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OUR  SUMMER  IN  THE 
VALE  OF  KASHMIR 


OUR  SUMMER 

IN  THE 

VALE  OF  KASHMIR 

By  F.  WARD  DENYS 

Life  Member  of  The  Archaeological  Insti- 
tute of  America  and  The  Washington  So- 
ciety of  The  Fine  Arts;  Member  of  The 
National  Geographic  Society  and  The  An- 
thropological Society  of  Washington,  D.  C. 

Limited  Edition  de  Luxe 


JAMES  WILLIAM   BRYAN  PRESS 
Washington.  D.  C. 


^1  -I 


JAMES  WILLIAM  BRYAN  PRESS 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 


Copyright,  1915,  by 

James  William  Bryan  Press 

All  Rights  Reserved 


James  William  Bryan  Press 
washington,  d.  c. 


DEDICATION 

To  all  lovers  of  the  beautiful  this  book  is 
dedicated.  For  in  the  remote  and  fascina- 
ting Vale  of  Kashmir  there  is  such  a 
wealth  of  varied  beauty  that  every  taste 
can  find  a  feast.  When  other  lands  have 
all  been  gleaned  and  memory  is  richly 
filled  with  precious  treasures  of  countless 
scenes  and  lovely  forms,  an  unrealized 
charm  is  still  in  store  for  every  soul  that 
has  responded  to  the  beautiful  in  all  these 
diverse  realms,  for  here,  here  in  Kashmir, 
the  sense  of  satisfaction  is  to  many  quite 
complete.  This  lofty  Valley  with  its  mar- 
velous beauty  seems  very  near  the  vault 
of  heaven,  and  all  that  is  best  in  man  re- 
vives till  the  soul  is  fired  to  "hitch  its 
chariot  to  a  star.'" 


51.3884 


PREFACE 

THE  title  of  this  volume  is  happily  chosen,  "Our  Summer 
in  the  Vale  of  Kashmir."  We  are  indebted  to  Dr. 
Denys  for  making  this  land  of  poetry  and  song,  known 
chiefly  through  the  enchanting  verses  of  "Lalla  Rookh,"  so  real 
and  vital  to  us.  The  chapters  are  not  only  charming  in  their 
delightful  portrayal  of  life  in  the  Valley,  but  are  also  valuable 
for  the  painstaking  presentation  of  details — the  how  and  when 
and  where  of  things  that  go  to  make  up  real  living  in  a  place. 
For  this  reason  the  book  will  doubtless  prove  to  be  of  consider- 
able assistance  to  tourists,  and  to  those  who  may  not  yet  have 
been  so  fortunate  as  to  visit  the  Vale  of  Kashmir  it  will  bring 
anticipations  of  enjoyment,  and  a  longing  desire  to  partake  of 
the  various  phases  of  life  to  be  experienced  there  in  their 
fullness  of  beauty  and  interest. 

The  well-chosen  pictures  and  the  artistic  letter-press  will 
also  add  to  the  reader's  pleasure  and  satisfaction. 

Owing  to  this  intimate  touch  gained  through  his  long  so- 
journ in  the  places  he  so  picturesquely  describes,  Dr.  Denys 
has  produced  a  volume  that  is  an  important  addition  to  works 
in  lighter  vein  on  countries  too  seldom  visited.  As  the  first 
American  who  has  written  of  his  experiences  in  the  land  of 
Kashmir,  he  will  doubtless  incite  others  of  his  countrymen  to 
make  the  long  journey  and  share  with  him  in  the  varied  charms 
of  a  region  so  aptly  characterized  by  Dr.  Arthur  Neve: 

"The  Valley  of  Kashmir  owes  its  fame,  doubtless,  not  less 
to  the  wild  grandeur  of  the  barriers  which  surround  it  than  to 
its  own  intrinsic  loveliness.  It  is  this  contrast  which  has  led 
the  poets  of  all  nations  to  speak  of  it  as  an  'emerald  set  in 
pearls.'    But  the  varied  beauties  of  Kashmir  appeal  to  every 


PREFAC  E 

want  and  taste.  For  the  cultivator  of  the  soil,  there  is  fertility 
of  land,  abundance  of  water,  variety  and  plenty  of  natural 
products,  whether  grain  or  fruits.  For  the  herdsman,  there  is 
rich  pasturage  and  broad  meadows.  The  sportsman  finds  game 
in  the  jungles  and  along  the  mountain-sides.  The  fisherman 
finds  ample  use  for  the  rod,  the  artist  for  his  sketch-block  and 
colours,  the  archaeologist,  linguist,  botanist,  or  geologist,  may 
well  whet  their  enthusiasm  over  the  stately  Buddhist  ruins, 
the  luxuriant  vegetation,  or  the  many  geological  problems 
awaiting  their  investigations;  while  they  who  have  neither 
hobbies  nor  inclinations,  who  want  but  rest  and  amusement 
in  a  lovely  country  and  pleasant  climate,  can  take  their  fill  of 
Nature's  bounty." 

MITCHELL  CARROLL. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

THE  VALE  OF  KASHMIR        Prologue 

I 
WHERE  IS  KASHMIR?        29 

II 
HOTEL,  HOUSEBOAT  OR  COTTAGE 38 

III 

THE  DIANA 45 

IV 
THE  SERVANTS 49 

V 
FOODS 56 

VI 
FINDING  A  PLACE 63 

VII 
THE  PICTURESQUE  RIVER .      67 

VIII 
THE  DHAL  LAKE 76 

IX 
SHOPS  AND  BAZAARS 85 

X 

WOOD-CARVING  AND  SILVERWARE 93 

XI 
NATIVE  INDUSTRIES 100 

XII 
SOCIAL  LIFE 107 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

XIII 
THE  RESIDENCY 115 

XIV 
THE  MAHARAJA 123 

XV 

THE  CLUB 134 

XVI 
SPORTS 141 

XVII 
VALLEY  AND  MOUNTAINS 148 

XVIII 
PLACES  OF  WORSHIP 152 

XIX 

ANCIENT  TEMPLES 156 

XX 

HOSPITALS 167 

XXI 

SCHOOLS • i77 

XXII 
HOUSEBOAT  TRAVELING 185 

XXIII 
GANDERBAL i97 

XXIV 
ISLAMABAD 205 

XXV 
GULMARG 212 

XXVI 
THE  PEOPLE 218 

XXVII 

AN  ARTIST  PARADISE 231 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Lotus  Flowers  of  Dhal  Lake Frontispiece 

In  Colors  from  a  Photograph 

The  Temple  that  Crowns  the  Takht-i-Sulieman 16 

Warmth  of  Color,  Pearly  Mist  and  Snow-Capped  Mountains     .     .  22 
Painted  especially  for  this  volume  by  Col.  H.  H.  Hart,  R.  E. 

Bullock  Carts  on  the  Pass 28 

Ekkas 28 

The  Rest-House  of  Domel 31 

The  Rest-House  of  Chakoti 31 

The  Outer  Circular  Road 36 

In  Colors  from  a  Photograph 

At  Baramulla 39 

The  Houseboat  "Diana" 44 

A  Domestic  Rice  Mill 48 

Primitive  Suspension  Bridge 53 

A  Food  Bazaar 57 

A  Campers'  Paradise 62 

A  Water  Highway  of  Kashmir 66 

In  Colors  from  a  Photograph 

The  Winding  Jhelum 69 

On  Kashmiri  Waters 69 

Beating  Out  the  Rice 73 

Nishat  Bagh  on  Dhal  Lake 77 

One  of  the  Seven  Bridges 84 

A  Candy  Kitchen  of  Kashmir 87 

Two  Panels  of  a  Carved  Screen 92 

Examples  of  Wood-Carving 95 

Wood-Carving  and  Engraving  on  Silver 97 

Children  Weaving  Rugs 101 

Papier  Mache,  Silver,  Brass  and  Wood 105 

A  Garden  Party  at  the  Residency 109 

"We  linger  in  beauties  that  never  are  gone" 114 

Painted  especially  for  this  volume  by  Col.  H.  H.  Hart,  R.  E. 

The  Seventh  Bridge 117 

The  British  Residency 117 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

A  Living  Welcome  to  the  Maharaja 122 

Prince  Hari  Singh 125 

The  Maharaja's  Palace  at  Srinagar 129 

Towing 129 

The  Maharaja  and  Cricket  Teams 131 

The  Srinagar  Club 135 

The  Entrance  to  Gulmarg 135 

British  Polo  Team 140 

Young  Kashmir  at  Play 143 

A  Lowland  Eight  Thousand  Feet  Above  the  Sea 149 

The  English  Church  and  Rectory 153 

Pilgrims  to  the  Cave  of  Amarnath 153 

The  Smaller  Temple  at  Avantipur 157 

The  Ruined  Temple  of  Bhaniyar 157 

The  Ancient  Temple  Ruins  at  Patan 162 

In  Colors  from  a  Photograph 

The  Temple  of  Martund 165 

The  Temple  of  Pandrathan 165 

Dr.  Arthur  Neve  and  Assistants 169 

An  Out-Ward  of  the  Mission  Hospital 169 

A  Native  Hut  in  Atchibal 173 

Welcoming  His  Highness 179 

Killing  the  Demons  of  Wular  Lake 184 

From  Srinagar  to  Baramulla 187 

Nightfall  on  Wular  Lake 192 

Painted  especially  for  this  volume  by  Col.  H.  H.  Hart,  R.  E. 

Lidar  Valley  above  Phalgram 196 

The  Lidar  River  at  Gulmarg 196 

Shisha  Nag  Glacier 199 

Plowing  in  the  Valley 204 

Holy  Men 209 

The  Royal  Post  Tonga 213 

The  Kashmir  Sedan 213 

Women  Spinning  Thread 219 

Spinning  Out  the  Thread 223 

Traveling  Musicians  with  Nautch  Girls 225 

Another  Glimpse  of  Chenar  Bagh 230 

An  Artist  Paradise 233 

Painted  especially  for  this  volume  by  Col.  H.  H.  Hart,  R.  E. 


TI1K  ANCIENT  TEMPLE  THAT  CROWNS  THE  TAKHT-I-SULIEMAN 

l<>r  untold  centuries  the  Faithful  from  the  Valley  far  below  have  found  their  way  to 

the  top  of  the  Takht,  there  to  worship  at  this  altar  in  the  clouds.    This  ancient  temple 

is  rich  in  romantic  history  and  the  beacon  tower  for  all  of  the  Vale  of  Kashmir. 


THE  VALE  OF  KASHMIR 


WITH  all  that  has  been  said  and  sung  of  the  Vale  of 
Kashmir,  its  very  name  brings  to  the  mind  visions  of 
a  far-away  land  of  transcendent  beauty  and  charm, 
a  kingdom  of  romance.  To  some,  it  is  a  name  to  conjure  with 
and  there  are  many  under  the  spell  of  its  call  who  turn  their 
burning  eyes  away  from  the  modern  glare, 

"the  fretful  stir 
Unprofitable,  and  the  fever  of  the  world" 

to  gaze  longingly  toward  this  enchanting  realm  where  time  is 
not,  where  months  are  reckoned  only  by  the  flowers  or  fruit 
they  bring — and  believe  that  if  once  they  might  enter  the  Vale 
of  Kashmir,  there  they  would  find  their  lost  youth  and  lost 
dreams. 

The  dying  Mogul  Emperor  Jehangir,  when  asked  if  he 
desired  anything,  closed  his  eyes  as  if  to  dream  of  the  fair  land 
he  loved,  as  he  made  answer,  "Only  Kashmir." 

Possessing  every  variety  of  climate  and  scenery  and  an 
equally  varied  past,  Kashmir  has  never  failed  to  satisfy  the 
visitor  who  has  been  willing  to  undertake  the  long  and  arduous 
journey,  whether  in  the  old  days  when  the  Delhi  Emperors 
traversed  the  difficult  route  on  horseback  and  in  palanquins 
with  their  splendid  retinue,  or  as  now,  when  the  modern 
tourist  reaches  the  promised  land  by  passing  from  the  hot  and 
dusty  railway  train  to  the  unreliable  motor-car  or  jolting  tonga. 

With  our  fixed  ideas  of  Kashmir  as  an  Elysium  where 
Nature  has  poured  out  lavishly  her  choicest  gifts,  where  beauty 
vies  with  romance  to  weave  a  mystic  spell,  it  is  easy  to  credit 
the  tales  that  when  the  earth  was  young,  the  Valley  was  under 
the  special  protection  of  the  gods  and  that  its  soil  nurtured 
demi-gods  and  heroes. 

In  prehistoric  times,  according  to  an  old  Sanskrit  poet,  a 
vast  lake  once  covered  the  Valley.  It  was  under  the  care  of 
the  goddess  Pervati  who  was  so  friendly  that  when  she  sailed 
her  boat  over  the  lake,  its  waters  became  smooth  and  safe. 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

But  a  wicked  dragon  disputed  her  beneficent  power.  From 
the  deep  waters  where  he  dwelt  he  caused  storms  to  arise  and 
overwhelm  any  boatmen  who  might  venture  to  cross.  Thus 
good  and  evil  strove  for  the  victory,  but  the  dragon  remained 
unconquered.  Then  the  god  Brahma  sent  his  grandson  to 
overcome  the  demon,  but  in  vain.  Whereupon  the  deities 
took  counsel  and  struck  the  mountain  a  mighty  blow,  making 
a  great  cleft  through  which  the  waters  of  the  lake  rushed  forth. 
Still  the  demon  eluded  them,  cowering  beneath  the  remaining 
water.  At  last  the  goddess  Pervati  came  forth  from  her  rocky 
height  and  in  despair  and  anger  hurled  a  mountain  down  upon 
the  dragon  in  his  hiding  place,  burying  him  under  the  mass  of 
rock.  The  people  will  tell  you  today  that  this  mountain  im- 
bedded in  the  ancient  lake  can  still  be  seen,  for  it  is  the  hill 
on  which  the  fort  Hari  Parbat  stands,  built  by  Akbar,  the 
great  Mogul  Emperor.  At  Baramulla,  the  present  gorge  and 
narrow  channel  testify  to  the  cleft  made  in  the  mountain. 

The  fertile  Valley  invited  men  to  dwell  there,  and  it  be- 
came populated  by  a  primitive  non-Aryan  people  who  lived 
in  the  fear  of  demons  and  imagined  the  serpent  a  god.  From 
these  superstitions  grew  Nag  worship,  the  most  ancient  cult  in 
Kashmir,  which  has  left  its  mark  in  many  names  of  places, 
as  Nag  Marg,  "the  alp  of  the  snake,"  and  Vernag,  "the  place 
of  many  springs  and  the  snake."  Their  veneration  for  the 
snake  led  them  to  build  tanks  for  the  god  to  occupy  at  the 
springs,  which  became  shrines  and  were  regarded  as  sacred 
places. 

The  Aryan  invaders  found  these  primitive  people  in  the 
Valley  and  in  contrast  to  their  well-demons  and  malignant 
spirits  which  must  ever  be  placated,  brought  friendly  and 
shining  divinities  with  whom  they  stood  on  good  terms.  The 
old  Aryan  word  deva,  the  shining  one,  has  derivatives  in  reli- 
gious use  today. 

Thus  through  the  years  arose  the  kingdom  of  Kashmir. 
But  however  favored  by  nature,  its  rich  heritage  brought 
misery  upon  the  country  and  people,  for  it  became  the  prey 
of  envious  neighbors  and  invading  hordes.  For  over  2,000 
years,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  peaceful  periods,  it  was 
racked  and  oppressed  by  alien  rule.  It  passed  from  the  grasp 
of  Buddhists  to  Hindus,  Mohammedans,  Sikhs  and  again  to 
Hindus  before  reaching  the  present  era  of  an  established 
government  and  general  toleration. 


THE    VALE    OF    KASHMIR 

When  Alexander  the  Great,  King  of  Macedon,  entered 
northern  India  in  327  B.  C.  and  pitched  his  camp  on  the  river 
which  he  called  Hydaspes,  influences  were  started  which  were 
to  bear  upon  the  subsequent  history  of  Kashmir  for  generations. 
The  fabulosus  Hydaspes  of  classic  fame  is  the  modern  Jhelum, 
the  great  placid  waterway  of  Kashmir.  Not  far  from  the 
southern  boundary  of  Kashmir,  where  the  river  makes  a  bend, 
Alexander  fought  a  battle  in  the  course  of  which  his  beloved 
charger,  the  renowned  Bucephalus,  was  slain.  In  his  honor 
Alexander  built  a  memorial  city  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river 
near  the  modern  Jalalpur. 

In  Alexander's  camp  in  the  Punjab  was  an  Indian  adven- 
turer, Chandra  Gupta,  who  afterward  seized  a  kingdom  for 
himself,  compelled  Seleucus,  Alexander's  successor  in  India, 
who  was  ruling  over  Syria,  to  make  a  treaty  with  him  and 
married  the  daughter  of  Seleucus,  a  Greek  princess.  It  was 
Asoka,  the  grandson  of  this  Indian  king,  who  in  257  B.  C.  came 
to  rule  over  Kashmir  and  who  in  256  B.  C.  made  a  treaty  with 
Antiochus  II,  the  grandson  of  Seleucus.  The  Greeks  had 
founded  an  independent  Kingdom  in  Bactria,  northwest  of 
the  Himalayas,  and  their  territory  extended  nearly  to  the 
borders  of  Kashmir. 

Along  the  Jhelum  River  in  the  Valley  of  Kashmir  there  are 
ancient  temples  which  remind  one  more  of  Greece  than  of 
India.  Naturally  the  theory  presents  itself  that  the  Kashmiri 
architects  must  have  borrowed  their  fluted  columns,  their 
porches  and  pediments  from  the  temples  of  their  Greek 
neighbors  in  Bactria.  Dr.  Arthur  Neve  says  of  the  little  tem- 
ple of  Pandrathan — "Its  ceiling  is  the  most  purely  classical 
design  of  any  in  Kashmir  and  might  well  pass  for  Greek  work." 

These  ruined  temples  and  shrines  tell  the  story  of  Kashmir, 
but  of  them  all,  the  interesting  temple  of  Pandrathan,  just 
mentioned,  is  most  closely  identified  with  the  ancient  and 
mediaeval  history  of  the  Valley,  and  it  is  the  only  one  which 
has  escaped  the  violence  of  invaders.  The  tank  in  which  it 
stands  dates  back  probably  to  the  dim  past  when  the  primi- 
tive Nag  worship  held  sway.  It  remains  the  sole  relic  of  the 
former  splendid  capital,  the  first  Srinagar  which  flourished  in 
the  Hindu  period  before  the  seat  of  government  was  moved 
to  the  present  capital,  Srinagar, — the  old  Srinagar  that  knew 
the  great  king  Asoka,  who  has  been  compared  to  Constantine, 
because   he   made    Buddhism   a   state   religion,    Constantine 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

afterward  effecting  the  same  thing  for  Christianity.  This  old 
city  must  have  been  filled  with  rejoicing  over  the  victories  of 
the  good  native  King  Laladitya,  whose  beneficent  reign  was 
one  of  the  few  bright  spots  in  all  the  centuries  of  oppression. 

If  the  little  temple  did  not  see  the  old  capital  in  its  more 
prosperous  days,  it  is  the  only  remaining  link  with  that  past. 
When  the  city  was  destroyed  by  fire,  the  temple  still  stood 
unharmed.  When  five  centuries  later  Sikander,  the  "idol 
breaker,"  was  king,  this  was  the  only  shrine  to  escape  his 
violent  hands.  It  saw  the  Hindu  kingdom  fall  and  witnessed 
five  hundred  years  of  Mohammedan  rule,  and  beheld,  in  1819, 
the  victorious  Runjit  Singh  occupy  the  Valley.  It  still  bears 
witness  to  the  nature-loving  Moguls  for  some  Mogul  prince 
planted  willows  and  plane  trees  to  keep  their  kindly  watch 
over  the  lonely  temple  bearing  its  burden  of  a  thousand  years. 

The  reign  of  Akbar  the  Great,  the  real  founder  of  the 
Mogul  Empire,  was  contemporary  with  that  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth of  England.  He  conquered  Kashmir  in  1587  and  quelled 
its  last  revolt  in  1592.  It  was  he  who  built  the  fort  Hari 
Parbat  on  the  mountain  which  the  goddess  Pervati,  according 
to  the  legend,  threw  down  upon  the  dragon.  He  thus  gave 
employment  to  thousands  and  instituted  various  public  works. 
Not  only  great  wealth  came  into  the  Valley  with  the  magnifi- 
cence of  the  Delhi  Court,  but  other  advantages  and  it  is  to 
Akbar,  it  is  said,  that  Srinagar  owes  the  Garden  of  the  Morning 
Wind,  the  Nasim  Bagh,  on  the  shores  of  the  Dhal  Lake. 
Prince  Selim  was  Akbar's  favorite  son,  and,  according  to  the 
annals,  he  was  the  one  who  was  always  sent  to  quell  any  revolt 
or  trouble  in  the  empire.  He  succeeded  his  father  and  became 
the  Emperor  Jehangir.  Romance  in  the  history  of  Kashmir 
centres  in  the  reign  of  this  Emperor  and  his  beloved  queen, 
Nur  Mahal.  As  Empress  she  came  to  be  the  principal  figure 
in  the  Mogul  Court  and  was  known  as  Nur  Jahan,  "the  light 
of  the  world." 

Born  in  dire  poverty,  though  of  a  noble  Persian  family,  her 
beauty  won  the  heart  of  the  young  prince  and  their  love  en- 
dured through  many  vicissitudes  until  they  were  at  last  united. 
Their  devotion  continued  through  life  and  they  were  never 
happier  than  when,  throwing  aside  the  cares  and  trappings  of 
state,  they  wandered  through  their  lovely  gardens  in  the  Vale 
of  Kashmir.  It  was  the  Emperor's  pleasure  to  indulge  his 
beautiful  wife  in  her  plans  for  these  royal  gardens,  which  with 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

their  marble  terraces  and  stately  walks,  fountains  and  water- 
falls, noble  trees  and  fragrant  blossoms  were  to  add  to  the 
happiness  of  unborn  generations.  What  matter  if  the  marble 
had  to  be  brought  from  far  off  Delhi  and  the  skilled  workmen, 
too?  It  was  joy  enough  to  linger  beside  the  fountain  while 
Nur  Mahal  played  with  the  shining  fishes,  or  to  rest  in  the 
shade  of  the  plane  trees,  or  beneath  the  marble  portals  while 
soft  music  mingled  with  the  song  of  the  waterfall. 

It  was  this  Emperor's  son,  Shah  Jehan,  who  built  at  Agra 
the  exquisite  mausoleum  of  Taj  Mahal,  a  dream  frozen  in 
marble.  He  erected  it  in  memory  of  his  wife,  Arjamand  Benu, 
who  died  in  1631. 

Under  Shah  Jehan,  the  Mogul  Empire  reached  its  greatest 
strength  and  magnificence.  Shah  Jehan's  land  revenues 
amounted  to  more  than  $120,000,000,  including  Kashmir  and 
five  provinces  in  Afghanistan.  With  the  death  of  his  son,  the 
last  great  Mogul  Emperor,  Aurangzeb,  in  1707,  the  people 
became,  in  the  words  of  Sir  Alfred  Lyall,  "a  masterless  multi- 
tude prepared  to  acquiesce  in  the  assumption  of  authority  by 
anyone  who  could  show  himself  able  to  discharge  the  most 
elementary  functions  of  government  in  the  preservation  of 
life  and  property." 

It  has  been  said  that  the  establishment  of  British  dominion 
in  India  has  no  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  world.  For  while 
other  empires  have  been  established  by  series  of  conquests 
carried  out  overland,  England's  power  in  India  has  been  won 
by  the  sea,  and  from  the  years  of  maritime  exploration  and 
small  coast  settlements,  its  growth  has  been  development 
brought  about  by  inevitable  forces. 

The  Valley  of  Kashmir  at  the  close  of  the  Sikh  wars  was 
recognized  by  the  British  as  an  independent  state  under  their 
protection.  It  was  brought  into  closer  relations  with  India  by 
the  establishment  of  a  British  resident  at  the  capital,  Srinagar, 
after  the  accession  of  the  new  Maharaja  in  1885. 

Jammu  is  a  feudatory  state  of  the  Maharaja  of  Kashmir, 
who  comes  from  a  Dogra-Rajput  family.  This  signifies  that 
he  is  of  famous  military  stock.  The  word  Rajput  means  "sons 
of  princes."  Its  use  goes  back  to  the  time  when  the  Aryan 
Hindu  invaders  came  down  from  the  north  into  India  and 
separated  into  three  division's — the  soldiers,  the  Brahmans,  or 
priests,  and  the  general  civil  population.  Through  all  the  years 
the  soldier  class  has  made  a  great  record  in  military  history. 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

The  Maharaja's  Dogra  ancestors  belonged  also  to  the  old 
Aryan  Hindu  race  and  were  noted  for  their  courage  and  great 
physical  endurance.  His  force  of  Imperial  Service  troops  con- 
sists mainly  of  Dogras  and  at  the  outbreak  of  the  present 
war,  the  Maharaja  placed  them  immediately  at  the  disposal 
of  the  British  Government.  In  addition,  he  subscribed  a  large 
sum  to  the  Fund  of  His  Royal  Highness,  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
and  also  gave  generously  to  the  Indian  Fund.  Not  content 
with  that,  he  did  something  rather  unusual  for  an  Indian  prince. 
The  Marquess  of  Crewe,  Secretary  of  State  for  India,  is  the 
authority  for  an  account  of  how  "the  Maharaja  of  Kashmir 
presided  at  a  meeting  of  two  thousand  people  in  Srinagar  and 
himself  delivered  a  stirring  speech,  as  the  result  of  which  large 
subscriptions  were  collected." 

It  is  impossible  to  give  here  any  idea  of  the  great  work  for 
India  under  the  British  Government,  which  is  going  on  with 
increasing  results.  In  the  words  of  Nawab  Nizamut  Jung, 
High  Court  Judge  of  Hyderabad: 

"Unmindful  of  their  ancient  name 
And  lost  to  Honour,  Glory,  Fame, 
And  sunk  in  strife, 

Thou  found'st  them,  whom  thy  touch  has  made 
Men,  and  to  whom  thy  breath  conveyed 
A  nobler  life!" 


OUR  SUMMER  IN  THE 
VALE  OF  KASHMIR 


Bullock  carts  on  the  pass.   These  unique  freight  trains  of  Kashmir  are  allowed  to  travel 
only  at  night,  so  that  the  road  may  be  free  for  other  travel  during  the  day. 


Transportation,  the  world-old  problem  of  man,  has  been  solved  in  Kashmir  by  means 

that  make  for  sureness  rather  than  speed.   These  odd  two-wheeled  ekkas  are  used  mostly 

to  firing  tourists  into  the  Valley. 


I 
WHERE  IS  KASHMIR? 

"Who  has  not  heard  of  the  Vale  of  Cashmere, 

With  its  roses  the  brightest  that  earth  ever  gave, 
Its  temples,  and  grottos,  and  fountains  as  clear 

As  the  love-lighted  eyes  that  hung  over  their  wave?" 

— Lalla  Rookh. 

TO  some  this  may  seem  an  entirely  unnecessary  ques- 
tion, and  the  only  excuse  I  have  for  considering  it  is 
that  before  I  met  friends  who  had  lived  there  my  own 
notions  of  it  were  extremely  vague  and  intangible,  and  such 
as  I  had  were  associated  for  the  most  part  with  "Lalla  Rookh" 
and  its  exuberant  rhetoric  and  poetic  license.  This  was  due 
I  presume  to  shadowy  memories  of  the  days  when  I  was  a 
student  of  English  literature.  I  knew,  of  course,  that  there 
was  such  a  spot  as  Kashmir,  and  it  is  barely  possible  that  I 
may  have  been  asked  to  give  its  boundaries  when  I  was 
studying  geography,  but  until  I  had  looked  it  up  on  the  map 
and  read  all  I  could  find  about  it,  my  notions  of  it  were  very 
nebulous.  Moreover,  even  after  I  had  read  all  that  I  could 
find  upon  the  subject  and  learned  from  friends  who  had  lived 
in  the  Valley  what  they  had  to  say  about  it,  my  conception 
of  it  was  still  rather  indefinite. 

It  was,  of  course,  easy  to  see  that  it  was  on  the  northern 
boundary  of  India,  with  Thibet  to  the  east,  Turkestan  to  the 
north,  and  Afghanistan  to  the  west.  One  wag  even  made  it 
a  part  of  India.  But  it  was  not  until  I  had  actually  reached 
Srinagar  that  I  realized  what  its  geographic  and  civic  re- 
lation was  to  the  Indian  Empire.  Guide-books  say  that  it 
is  a  valley  about  twenty  miles  wide  and  eighty  miles  long, 
surrounded  by  lofty,  snow-capped  mountains,  and  that  two 
striking  elevations  rise  from  its  midst;  that  it  has  two  large 
lakes,  and  that  a  winding  river  runs  throughout  its  entire 
length.  But  no  one  had  told  me  that,  although  the  elevation 
of  the  Valley  is  above  five  thousand  feet,  the  climate  is  not 

[29] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

as  exhilarating  as  that  of  the  Adirondack^,  with  an  elevation 
of  only  fourteen  hundred  feet,  or  Eagles  Mere,  Pennsylvania, 
with  an  elevation  of  two  thousand  two  hundred  feet,  or  Ober- 
hofen  on  Lake  Thun  at  nineteen  hundred  feet.  Still,  anyone 
can  see  from  the  map  that  its  principal  city,  Srinagar,  is 
almost  on  the  same  parallel  as  that  of  Los  Angeles  and  Yoko- 
hama, but  south  of  the  Riviera,  northern  Africa  and  Spain,  and 
thus  find  an  explanation  for  this  lack  of  tonic  quality  in  April, 
the  time  our  visit  began. 

While  all  this  may  not  make  it  very  clear  just  where 
Kashmir  is,  a  careful  study  of  the  map  will  help  to  identify 
this  portion  of  the  world  which  is  little  known  and  seldom 
visited  by  any  but  Englishmen;  for  rarely  do  Germans,  French- 
men, Italians,  Spaniards,  or  in  short  any  Europeans,  go  there. 
Nor  for  that  matter  do  many  American  tourists  stray  so  far 
from  the  beaten  path  as  this.  They  have  the  reputation  of 
going  almost  everywhere  in  great  numbers  and  distributing 
dollars  in  large  and  liberal  quantities  all  along  the  way,  and 
while  it  may  be  true  that  some  have  done  much  to  destroy 
many  an  economical  paradise,  because  of  these  extravagant 
habits  of  spending  money,  it  cannot  justly  be  said  that  they 
are  mean  or  niggardly  simply  because  they  now  and  then 
refuse  to  pay  three  or  four  times  as  much  as  would  be  charged 
Europeans,  or  because  they  decline  to  give  tips  that  are  two 
or  three  times  as  much  as  the  natives  expect  from  tourists 
from  other  countries. 

But  to  return  to  the  map — being  careful  to  consult  one  that 
shows  the  railroads — you  will  see  that  there  is  no  station  nearer 
this  Valley  than  Rawal  Pindi,  and  that  one  of  the  rivers  flows 
from  the  Valley  down  into  northern  India.  It  will  also  become 
evident  that  it  is  in  the  midst  of  a  mountainous  country,  and 
that  to  reach  it  means  a  long  voyage  by  steamer  to  India,  and 
many  miles  of  railroad  travel  before  the  entrance  to  the  pass 
is  gained. 

As  to  the  question,  how  to  get  to  Kashmir,  much  naturally 
depends  upon  the  part  of  the  world  the  reader  is  in,  though 

[30] 


The  charmingly  situated  rest-house  of  Domel.     Despite  the  grandeur  of  the  scenery, 

the  hospitable  rest-houses  nestled  in  the  hills  at  frequent  intervals  form  welcome  breaks 

in  the  two  hundred-mile  journey  into  the  Valley. 


At  this  point  the  road  is  flanked  by  precipitous  mountain  walls,  to  whose  sides  cling 
immense  boulders,  which  seem  to  offer  a  real  menace  to  the  wayfarer  and  the  pleasant 

rest-house  of  Chakoti. 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

wherever  he  may  be,  it  will,  first  of  all,  be  necessary  to  go  to 
some  Indian  port.  Letters  from  New  York  take  about  a 
month,  and  from  London  about  three  weeks,  to  reach  there. 
From  San  Francisco  it  takes  longer  still,  and  from  most 
European  cities  less  time  than  from  London.  It  is,  therefore, 
a  matter  of  steamship  journey  from  wherever  you  happen  to 
be  to  any  Indian  port  that  may  suit  you  best.  It  then  becomes 
a  question  of  a  railroad  journey  to  Rawal  Pindi,  that  being 
the  usual  starting  point  from  the  railroad  for  travelers  going 
to  the  Valley  of  Kashmir.  And  Rawal  Pindi  can  be  reached 
by  rail  from  Tuticorin,  Madras,  Calcutta,  Bombay  or  Karachi, 
with  but  few,  if  any,  changes  of  cars.  The  last  is,  perhaps, 
the  nearest  port  in  actual  distance,  though  passengers  who 
have  tried  that  way  say  the  steamers  to  other  ports  are  larger 
and  better  and  the  railroad  journey  more  comfortable  than 
from  Karachi.  We  decided  to  go  from  Bombay,  and  were 
very  much  gratified  to  find  that  the  cars  were  well-equipped 
and  very  comfortable — far  more  so  than  we  had  expected. 

We  took  our  train  one  evening  and  after  traveling  all  that 
night  we  passed  through  Delhi  about  ten  o'clock  the  following 
night,  and  then  continued  through  Amritzar  and  Lahore  to 
Rawal  Pindi,  where  we  arrived  the  day  following  in  the  after- 
noon. It  was  therefore  a  little  less  than  two  days'  journey. 
But  in  spite  of  the  excessive  heat  it  was  fairly  comfortable, 
as  all  our  meals  were  taken  in  the  dining-car  on  the  train,  with 
the  exception  of  one  at  Lahore.  The  compartments  were  each 
about  nine  feet  long  and  the  full  width  of  the  car,  with  a  divan 
upholstered  in  leather  on  either  side,  running  lengthwise  of 
the  car.  They  were  all  provided  with  commodious  toilet-  and 
dressing-rooms,  and  the  better  ones  were  not  only  lighted  by 
electricity,  but  had  two  electric  fans,  one  with  a  moistening 
attachment  that  had  a  very  refreshing  effect  upon  the  air. 
The  divans  were  used  as  beds  at  night,  and  a  third  one  could 
be  let  down  from  the  side  above  the  windows  if  it  was  desired. 
There  were  also  two  large  easy  chairs  in  each  of  these  compart- 
ments.   We  were  told  that  some  of  the  trains  had  cars  with 

[33] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

large  and  well-appointed  bathrooms,  but  as  we  were  anxious 
to  reach  the  Valley  as  soon  as  possible,  we  did  not  wait  for 
one  of  these. 

As  all  the  station-masters  speak  English  and  many  of  the 
attendants  understand  it,  even  ladies  sometimes  travel  without 
a  bearer  or  native  servant.  We  would,  however,  always 
strongly  recommend  taking  one,  for  they  are  not  only  useful 
as  interpreters,  but  render  a  great  variety  of  practical  services. 
For  instance,  they  make  up  your  beds,  relieve  you  of  all 
trouble  about  your  luggage,  and  secure  your  cabs  for  you  at 
the  railroad  station,  as  well  as  serve  as  guides  in  visiting  places 
of  interest. 

From  Rawal  Pindi,  which,  as  already  stated,  is  the  station 
where  you  leave  the  train,  you  can  go  into  the  Valley  in  one 
of  several  ways,  either  by  motor-car,  landau  or  tonga.  The 
first  usually  takes  two  days,  although  it  is  less  than  two 
hundred  miles  to  Srinagar,  but  the  objection  to  the  motor- 
car is  that  if  it  breaks  down— an  all-too-frequent  occurrence — 
a  very  annoying  delay  may  result.  The  landau  is  in  some 
respects  the  most  comfortable  and  certain  mode  of  convey- 
ance, at  least  many  people  think  so,  but  it  is  much  more 
expensive  and  only  carries  four  passengers  and  but  little  or 
no  luggage.  The  tonga,  which  is  the  usual  mode  of  travel,  is 
a  covered  conveyance  on  two  wheels  with  seats  for  three  in 
addition  to  the  driver,  and  places  for  two  small  trunks  above 
the  wheels  on  either  side,  while  above  these  bedding  and  travel- 
ing rugs  are  often  tied  on.  It  is  drawn  by  one  or  two  horses, 
according  to  the  tariff  paid  by  the  passenger,  and  takes  three, 
four,  five  or  six  days,  according  to  the  number  of  horses  and 
the  frequency  of  changes  on  the  way.  With  either  a  landau 
or  a  tonga,  and  a  sufficient  number  of  changes  of  horses,  the 
entire  journey  can  be  made  quite  comfortably  with  but  two 
nights  on  the  way,  and  as  the  rest-houses  are  for  the  most  part 
very  good  indeed,  and  some  are  charmingly  situated,  this  is 
often  a  very  delightful  experience.  Some  indeed  find  the  ride 
so  agreeable  that  they  prefer  to  take  the  longer  time  of  six 

[34] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

days,  not  only  because  the  fares  are  less,  but  also  on  account 
of  the  greater  ease  of  riding  the  shorter  distances  each  day, 
and  the  agreeable  novelty  of  putting  up  at  some  of  these 
picturesque  and  charming  rest-houses. 

A  very  good  way  to  make  the  journey  is  to  stop  for  the 
first  night  at  the  beautiful  hill  station  of  Murree,  where  there 
are  two  hotels,  and  then  take  two  nights  between  there  and 
Baramulla.  Here  you  can  arrange  to  have  your  houseboat 
waiting  for  you  and  go  on  in  this  way  up  the  river  in  your 
floating  home  to  Srinagar  at  your  leisure.  Although,  if  you 
prefer  to  do  so,  you  can  continue  in  your  traveling  conveyance 
to  this  destination.  These  boats  can  be  hired  from  agents  in 
Rawal  Pindi  if  they  have  not  already  been  engaged  by  corres- 
pondence with  Srinagar.  You  can  also  make  arrangements 
in  regard  to  them  at  Baramulla,  though  the  selection  is 
naturally  much  larger  in  Srinagar,  where  there  is  a  very 
large  number  of  boats  affording  a  wide  variety  of  choice. 


[37] 


II 
HOTEL,  HOUSEBOAT  OR  COTTAGE 

"Or  to  see  it  by  moonlight — when  mellowy  shines 
The  light  o'er  its  palaces,  gardens,  and  shrines" 

— Lalla  Rookh. 

\ FTER  arriving  in  Srinagar,  if  the  question  of  quarters 
/-\  has  not  already  been  settled  in  advance  through  an 
agent  or  friend  living  there,  it  can  readily  be  arranged 
according  to  your  own  wishes  and  tastes.  The  hotel  is  a 
good  one  with  large  airy  rooms  and  balconies,  and  the  table 
is  also  good  for  India,  or  as  hotels  average  in  India,  and 
should  you  decide  to  stay  in  it,  you  will  be  free  from  all  the 
annoyances  of  housekeeping — and  there  are  plenty  of  them 
even  in  Kashmir — as  well  as  escape,  in  some  measure,  the 
eternal — many  say  infernal — servant  question.  But  you  will 
lose  to  a  large  extent  all  the  advantages  of  a  home,  with 
freedom  to  control  the  kind  and  quality  of  your  food,  as  it  is 
impossible  for  any  hotel,  however  obliging,  to  consider  all  the 
individual  tastes  and  whims  of  its  patrons.  Therefore,  if  you 
wish  to  be  free  to  choose  your  own  diet  and  the  way  you  wish 
your  food  prepared  and  served,  it  becomes  a  question  of  a 
cottage  or  houseboat. 

Of  the  former  there  are  a  few  to  be  had,  but  as  the  best 
are  taken  by  the  year  and  are  available  only  when  the  tenant 
is  willing  to  sublet,  the  choice  is  not  an  extensive  one.  We 
learned  of  several  such  cottages,  though,  and  some  of  them 
were  delightfully  situated  and  attractively  furnished.  If  it 
suits  you  to  take  a  cottage,  the  chances  are  it  will  have  an 
attractive  flower  garden,  a  well-stocked  fruit  and  vegetable 
garden,  and  a  stable.  It  will  therefore  be  merely  a  matter  of 
getting  servants  and  moving  in,  and  this  will  only  mean  going 
to  the  hotel  first  and  then  looking  about  until  you  find  a  cot- 
tage that  answers  your  purpose. 

But  by  far  the  large  majority  live  in  houseboats,  and  some 
remain  in  them  not  only  during  the  spring  and  autumn  months, 

[38] 


0 

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OJ 

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3 

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u 

V 

C 

5. 

<u 

THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

but  all  summer,  or  in  a  few  instances  throughout  the  entire 
year.  The  latter  admit  that  it  is  sometimes  a  little  hot  and 
the  mosquitoes  somewhat  troublesome,  but  claim  that  they 
are  not  seriously  uncomfortable  at  any  time,  and  that  there 
are  always  compensations  for  the  stay-at-homes  even  on 
houseboats. 

The  selection  of  the  houseboat  by  no  means  concludes  one's 
living  arrangements,  unless  by  chance  he  has  selected  one 
that  is  a  combination  of  houseboat  and  kitchen  boat.  It  is 
necessary  in  most  instances  to  engage  a  kitchen  boat  along 
with  the  houseboat.  This  is  arranged  in  such  a  way  that  the 
front  portion  is  devoted  to  a  kitchen  for  the  occupants  of  the 
houseboat.  In  this  there  are  two  or  three  stoves — not  stoves 
after  the  fashion  that  we  are  accustomed  to,  but  merely  earthen 
or  cement  constructions  with  a  hole  in  the  top  and  in  which 
a  fire  can  be  built.  They  are  very  simple  and  primitive,  and 
yet  on  these  stoves  almost  anything  one  is  accustomed  to  have 
in  a  western  home  is  prepared  with  great  success.  In  this 
department  also  are  the  boxes  for  holding  the  food,  that  is, 
the  meats  and  vegetables  and  articles  of  that  description,  and 
underneath  the  floor  there  is  a  large  space  for  storing  wood. 
In  the  rear  of  this  is  another  compartment  that  may  be  sub- 
divided by  curtains  and  here  are  the  quarters  of  the  more 
important  servants.  In  the  rear  of  the  boat  there  is  a  large 
section  devoted  to  the  boatmen  and  their  wives  and  families. 
As  this  community  is  sometimes  quite  numerous,  and  is  pro- 
vided with  their  own  stove  and  cooking  arrangements,  it  is 
hard  to  understand  how  they  are  all  able  to  live  in  such  con- 
tracted quarters.  It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  by  having  the 
kitchen  boat  in  the  rear  of  the  houseboat,  little  or  no  odor 
from  the  cooking  ever  reaches  the  occupants  of  the  latter,  and, 
curiously  enough,  although  there  were  a  large  number  of 
people  always  on  this  boat,  we  rarely,  if  ever,  heard  any  sounds 
coming  from  it.  For  this  kitchen  boat,  including  the  services 
of  three  men,  with  their  wives  and  families,  one  pays  the 
large  sum  of  five  dollars  a  month. 

t4i] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

There  are  also  one  or  two  rowboats  to  be  hired  in  con- 
nection with  the  houseboat.  These  have  their  paddles  and 
awnings  and  cushions,  and  as  a  rule  are  very  comfortable, 
neatly  ordered  boats.  The  cost  for  the  best  ones  would  be 
about  a  dollar  each  per  month.  Should  one  desire  extra  rowers 
for  an  hour  or  a  day,  they  can  be  hired  for  two  or  four  cents. 


42] 


•z  c 

3    D 


X    — — 

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x    =  a 


—        S*  1- 

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u  -2  e 


JO*' 


[i3     jr  i>  « 


V       —     ^J   7" 

/.       u    c    y 


—       0 
X       5:    3 


Ill 
THE  DIANA 


"Many  a  fair  bark  that  all  the  day 
Had  lurked  in  sheltering  creek  or  bay" 
Lalla  Rookh. 


THE  Diana  was  called  the  pick  of  all  the  houseboats  on 
the  river,  at  least  that  is  the  way  she  was  described 
by  one  of  the  residents  in  Srinagar  before  we  had 
seen  her.  After  visiting  some  fifty  or  more  of  the  larger  ones 
and  later  seeing  all  the  handsome  private  boats,  we  could 
fully  appreciate  what  he  meant.  She  had  been  built  by  a 
man  of  rare  and  discriminating  taste  for  his  own  private  use, 
and  as  he  had  had  a  wide  experience  in  houseboats  he  saw 
to  it  that  nothing  was  omitted  that  could  make  her  comfort- 
able and  attractive.  Nor  had  she  ever  been  rented  until  her 
owner's  official  duties  called  him  to  England  and  France. 

The  accompanying  photographs  will  give  some  idea  of  her 
external  appearance,  though  they  do  not  do  her  justice,  as 
she  is  a  far  finer  looking  boat  than  any  of  the  pictures  would 
indicate.  One  of  her  admirers  said  she  had  a  very  distinguished 
air  and  looked  like  a  gentleman's  boat — whatever  that  may 
mean.  We  were  delighted  with  her  and  left  her  for  our  "hut" 
— that  is  what  the  cottages  are  called  in  Gulmarg — with  real 
regret  and  were  very  glad  to  return  to  her  again  after  an 
absence  of  two  months  in  that  deservedly  popular  summer 
resort.  As  will  be  seen  from  the  photographs,  she  has  two 
lower  decks — one  at  each  end — with  a  passageway  running 
throughout  her  entire  length  on  either  side  connecting  these 
decks  with  one  another,  while  above  there  is  an  upper  deck 
with  an  awning  and  a  number  of  easy  chairs  and  tables.  She 
is  somewhat  over  a  hundred  feet  long  and  about  fourteen 
feet  wide.  The  first  room  in  front  serves  as  an  ante-room.  It  is 
of  good  size  with  a  handsomely  decorated  ceiling  and  has  charm- 
ing stained-glass  windows,  with  carved  woodwork  around  the 

[45] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

doors  and  openings.  The  furniture  includes  large  brass-bound 
desks,  chairs,  Turkish  rugs,  pieces  of  damascened  ware,  shields 
and  swords,  and  three  water-color  pictures. 

The  next  room,  about  twice  as  large,  is  the  drawing-room. 
This  has  a  handsomely  upholstered  divan,  three  large  easy 
chairs,  brass-bound  bookshelves,  walnut  rods  with  gold  inlaid 
decorations,  six  small  oil  paintings,  one  artistic  papier-mache 
shelf,  an  elaborately  carved  mantel  and  overmantel  at  the 
fireplace,  with  a  richly  wrought  brass  fender  and  handsome 
brass-bound  wood  box,  beautifully  carved  wood  desk  and 
table,  carved  wood  decorations  around  the  door  openings,  a 
large  rich  brass  plate,  a  folding  table,  five  large  oil  paintings, 
and  two  Turkish  rugs.  Back  of  this  is  the  dining-room,  which 
is  about  fourteen  feet  long  and  the  same  breadth  as  the  other 
rooms.  This  has  a  mantel  and  fireplace  like  the  drawing-room, 
with  a  very  elaborately  carved  overmantel,  on  the  top  of  which 
is  a  handsome  brass  piece.  The  sills  of  all  the  doors  and 
windows  are  brass  and  there  are  brass-bound  book-cases,  a 
very  large  brass-bound  sideboard,  dining  table  and  chairs,  a 
brass-bound  tea  table,  four  oil  paintings,  a  Turkish  rug  and 
Oriental  curtains.  In  addition  to  these  rooms  there  are  three 
handsomely  furnished  bedrooms  with  open  fireplaces,  and  two 
bathrooms.  She  is  fitted  up  with  the  necessary  housekeeping 
equipment  for  a  family  of  eight  or  ten  people  and  is  entirely 
ready  for  occupancy. 


[46] 


A   DOMESTIC   RICK   MILL 

The  charm  of  Kashmir  is  that  it  is  distinctively  itself.    A  walk  through  the  bazaars,  the 

huts  and  factories  presents  a  living  panorama  of  the  India  of  the  imagination.    Here 

are  to  In-  seen  the  flashing  colors,  the  turbaned  heads  and  the  picturesque  groups  of 

the  populace  at  work  and  at  play. 


IV 
THE  SERVANTS 

"On  either  side  with  ready  hearts  and  hands, 
His  chosen  guard  of  bold  believers  stands" 
— Lalla  Rookh. 

THE  servant  problem  is  here  just  as  elsewhere,  only 
here  service  is  less  expensive.  However,  it  is  a  very 
important  consideration  and  should  be  settled  as  soon 
as  a  houseboat  or  cottage  has  been  chosen.  While  we  were  in 
Bombay  friends  had  told  us  such  awful  tales  about  the  Kash- 
miri servants — that  they  were  such  liars  and  thieves — we 
decided  to  follow  the  advice  they  gave  us  as  a  result  of  their 
own  experiences  and  take  a  bearer,  or  butler,  and  a  cook  from 
India,  both  of  whom  spoke  English.  It  was  in  this  way  that 
we  had  the  nucleus  of  our  corps  on  our  arrival. 

In  Srinagar  we  were  advised  to  see  the  government  official 
who  had  charge  of  this  matter  and  hire  all  our  servants  through 
his  office,  as  such  servants  would  have  to  come  with  his 
approval  and  in  case  of  trouble  would  be  held  responsible  by 
him.  We  therefore  engaged  a  bhisti — a  water-carrier — a  but- 
ler's assistant,  a  sweeper,  two  derseys,  a  dhobie,  a  cook's  assist- 
ant, three  men  to  act  as  grooms  for  the  saddle-horses,  and 
three  boatmen.  These  constituted  our  regular  force,  but  were 
supplemented  from  time  to  time  by  a  variety  of  helpers  as  we 
required  them. 

The  wages  of  our  Indian  butler  and  cook  were  about  ten 
dollars  each  per  month,  but  they  provided  all  their  own 
clothing  and  food,  even  when  we  were  traveling.  The  bhisti 
received  three  dollars  a  month;  the  butler's  assistant  one 
dollar  and  sixty-six  cents  a  month;  the  sweeper  three  dollars 
per  month.  The  derseys  received  five  dollars  for  the  chief  and 
three  dollars  and  thirty-three  cents  for  his  assistant,  these 
two  men  doing  all  the  sewing  and  mending  for  the  family,  as 
well  as  making  all  sorts  of  articles  of  wearing  apparel,  including 

[49] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

suits  of  clothes,  dresses  and  shirtwaists.  The  dhobie,  or  laundry- 
man,  had  six  dollars  and  sixty-six  cents  a  month  for  doing  all 
the  laundry  for  the  entire  family  of  six  persons,  and  as  we 
wore  white  most  of  the  time  there  were  sometimes  over  a 
thousand  pieces  per  month.  The  laundry  was  all  taken  away 
on  Monday  and  returned  on  Saturday,  and  as  a  rule  was 
remarkably  well  done. 

The  cook's  assistant,  who  was  a  general  errand  boy  as 
well,  had  a  dollar  and  sixty-six  cents  per  month.  The  wages  of 
the  three  boatmen  were  included  in  the  cost  of  the  kitchen 
boat,  as  were  those  of  the  hostlers  in  the  charges  for  the 
saddle-horses.  We  paid  about  eight  dollars  per  month  for  each 
man  and  horse,  though  this  price  covered  the  cost  for  the 
use  of  the  horse,  his  food  and  care,  as  well  as  the  wages  and 
food  of  the  men,  who  slept  with  the  horses.  As  these  horses 
were  from  the  Maharaja's  stables  they  were  supposed  to  be 
the  best  to  be  had  in  the  Valley,  and  the  men  were  held 
responsible  by  the  Maharaja's  officer  who  was  in  charge  of 
his  stables.  Whenever  a  horse  or  man  proved  unsatisfactory 
a  change  was  at  once  made.  In  addition  to  the  above  we  also 
had  a  caddie  boy  for  golf,  who  received  two  dollars  per  month, 
which  also  covered  the  cost  of  his  food  and  clothes,  and 
when  he  was  not  serving  as  caddie,  he  did  anything  else  that 
might  be  required  of  him. 

Then,  too,  when  we  went  up  or  down  the  river,  or  had  the 
position  of  our  boat  changed,  we  employed  a  small  army  of 
trackers,  who  towed  the  boat  from  the  shore  or  pushed  it 
along  with  poles  as  the  occasion  required.  Naturally  our  force 
was  somewhat  larger  than  the  average  on  account  of  the 
unusual  size  of  the  Diana,  which,  as  we  have  already  said, 
was  one  of  the  largest  boats  on  the  river. 

I  have  mentioned  that  we  brought  the  bearer  and  cook 
from  India  to  avoid  trouble  and  secure  protection,  but  un- 
fortunately we  experienced  the  reverse.  Very  soon  difficulties 
arose  with  the  Kashmiri  servants  who  did  not  like  the  "down 
country"  men,  as  they  were  called.    One  day  there  was  a 

[50] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

disgraceful  row  just  outside  the  boat  on  the  bank,  which 
quieted  down  in  a  measure  when  I  appeared  with  a  switch. 
It  was  impossible  to  learn  the  facts,  so  I  sent  for  the  Maha- 
raja's representative,  who  came  with  assistants  and  held  a 
sort  of  court  of  inquiry.  After  he  had  carefully  examined  all 
the  servants,  the  result  of  his  investigation  was  summed  up 
in  the  statement  that  the  Kashmiri  servants  did  not  like  my 
bearer.  He  said,  however,  he  had  threatened  them  all  with 
fine  and  imprisonment  if  there  was  any  further  trouble.  This 
had  the  result  of  keeping  peace  for  a  few  days,  but  the  bearer 
seemed  to  be  afraid  the  Kashmiri  servants  might  poison  him 
or  do  him  some  violence,  and  asked  to  be  released  from  his 
contract.  After  a  little  persuasion  he  consented  to  remain  for 
a  while  longer  and  try  it.  But  I  was  not  surprised  a  few 
days  later  to  have  him  come  and  say  he  must  go  the  next 
day,  and  go  he  did. 

We  then  engaged  a  Kashmiri  bearer,  who  spoke  English 
and  had  been  trained  in  an  English  household,  and,  although 
he  was  one  of  the  most  highly  paid  bearers  in  the  Valley,  his 
wages  were  only  six  dollars  and  sixty-six  cents  per  month, 
including  food  and  clothes.  He  proved  so  competent  and 
trustworthy  that  later  on  he  became  a  sort  of  steward,  having 
charge  of  all  the  other  servants,  making  most  of  the  purchases, 
and  attending  to  all  other  arrangements  in  connection  with 
our  housekeeping.  He  acted  as  interpreter  and  saw  to  it  that 
all  the  other  servants  did  their  work  properly.  During  the 
Mohammedan  fast  he  and  all  his  co-religionists — and  most  of 
our  servants  were  Mohammedans — fasted  from  dawn  till  after 
sunset  with  no  falling  off  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties.  At 
certain  hours  Sultana — the  bearer — held  a  sort  of  service  with 
the  others,  and  he  told  me  that  all  were  very  faithful  in  the 
observance  of  this  fast,  which  seemed  remarkable  as  it  lasted 
over  a  month. 

Prior  to  this  we  had  been  compelled  to  let  Rama,  the  cook, 
go.  The  parting  came  about  in  this  manner:  We  were  on  our 
way  up  the  river  to  Islamabad  when  I  noticed  that  the  bearer 

[51] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

always  went  with  the  cook  every  time  any  purchases  were 
made,  but  nothing  was  said  until  one  day  the  cook  was  ill 
and  Sultana  came  to  me  for  instructions  and  advice.  It  then 
came  out  that  the  cook  could  not  speak  Kashmiri  and  that  all 
the  purchases  had  to  be  made  by  the  bearer.  When  I  asked 
how  the  cook  had  got  on  in  Srinagar,  I  found  that  the 
merchants  there  understood  Hindu,  which  was  not  the  case 
in  the  villages  along  the  river.  As  he  had  professed  to  under- 
stand and  speak  the  native  language  he  was  a  little  disconcerted 
to  have  me  make  this  discovery,  and  told  me  that  his  wife 
was  very  ill  and  that  he  must  return  to  Bombay  at  once. 
After  this  Sultana  made  all  the  purchases  and  I  found  that 
the  cost  of  our  food  decreased  between  fifteen  and  twenty 
per  cent.  This  was  another  evidence  of  the  ill-feeling  toward 
the  "down  country"  men  on  the  part  of  the  Kashmiri,  who 
thought  that  these  foreigners  were  holding  places  that  should 
be  filled  by  natives;  for,  curious  as  it  may  seem,  these  Indian 
servants  were  considered  foreigners  quite  as  much  as  we  were, 
with  this  difference,  that  they  liked  us  and  disliked  them. 
Moreover,  I  found  to  my  surprise  that  I  could  have  bought 
food  in  the  bazaars  by  using  a  native  interpreter  for  less  than 
my  Bombay  cook  could.  This,  however,  was  one  of  many  in- 
teresting incidents  in  our  Kashmiri  educational  experience. 

Still  another  servant  I  have  not  mentioned,  as  we  did  not 
have  him  when  we  were  in  the  houseboat,  but  during  July 
and  August,  when  we  took  the  cottage  in  Gulmarg.  For  the 
want  of  a  better  name  he  might  be  called  a  woodman.  Sultana 
had  told  me  we  should  need  another  servant,  but  that  he  would 
be  a  great  saving  to  me,  because  he  would  chop  and  provide 
all  the  wood  that  we  used.  This  would  be  a  large  item  as  we 
had  open  fires  in  each  room  and  they  would  be  going  almost 
continually,  for,  owing  to  the  high  altitude  of  eight  thousand 
five  hundred  feet  it  was  very  cold  indeed  at  times,  especially 
at  night.  Then,  too,  we  had  several  cooking  stoves  in  the 
kitchen  to  be  provided  with  wood.  How  much  we  actually 
burned  I  do  not  know,  but  it  must  have  been  a  good  many 

[52] 


s  '& 


"*~fi** 


A  PRIMITIVE  SUSPENSION   BRIDGE  AT  I'RI 

This  swing  bridge,  known  as  jkula,  is  made  of  twisted  birch  twigs  and  spans  the  river 

below  the  fort  at  l"ri.    When  the  river  is  high  the  middle  of  the  bridge  touches  the  water, 

and  at  all  times  it  requires  a  steady  head  and  acrobatic  muscular  development. 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

cords,  all  of  which  cost  for  the  entire  two  months  we  were 
there  the  vast  sum  of  four  dollars,  that  being  the  woodman's 
wages,  and  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  he,  like  all  the 
other  servants,  provided  all  his  own  food  and  clothing.  It  is 
hard  to  understand  how  these  servants  can  live  on  such  wages 
and  rear  families,  and  yet  they  do  and  save  money  besides. 

There  were  other  servants,  in  addition  to  these  purely 
domestic  ones,  but  it  is  only  necessary  to  say  that  their  wages 
were  all  on  the  same  low  scale.  For  instance,  in  Gulmarg  if 
one  wished  to  economize  in  the  matter  of  horses  a  good-sized 
pony  and  hostler  could  be  had  for  five  dollars  a  month,  instead 
of  eight,  and  this  included  the  services  of  the  man  and  food  for 
both  man  and  beast.  It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  that 
the  cost  of  living,  as  far  as  servants  are  concerned,  is  very 
light,  but  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  these  are  prices 
paid  by  a  temporary  resident,  while  those  paid  by  permanent 
residents  are  very  much  less.  For  instance,  a  native  bearer 
would  only  cost  three  dollars  and  thirty-three  cents  to  four 
dollars  a  month,  if  he  did  not  speak  English — and  as  a  rule 
the  best  ones  do  not.  And  the  bhistis  and  sweepers  would  only 
receive  from  two  dollars  to  two  dollars  and  thirty-three  cents 
per  month,  while  all  others  are  proportionately  low.  Nor  are 
these  rates  likely  to  increase  very  much,  as  the  Valley  is  so 
comparatively  difficult  of  access  that  rich,  extravagant  and 
pleasure-loving  tourists  are  not  inclined  to  take  the  long  and, 
to  some,  very  fatiguing  journey  necessary  to  reach  Srinagar. 
And  yet  I  have  known,  as  stated  elsewhere,  a  number  of 
visitors,  who  were  upward  of  seventy  years  of  age,  who  had 
not  only  made  this  journey  but  thoroughly  enjoyed  it. 


[55] 


V 
FOODS 

"The  board  was  spread  with  fruits  and  wine; 
With  grapes  of  gold,  like  those  that  shine 
On  Casbin's  hills;"  _LaUa  Rookh 

A  QUESTION  of  almost  equal  importance  to  that  of 
servants  is  that  of  food,  and  it  is  a  gratifying  surprise 
to  find  that  most  things  one  is  accustomed  to  at  home 
can  be  had  here,  though  some,  it  is  true,  are  imported  in  tins. 
The  number  of  fresh  vegetables,  however,  is  remarkably  large 
when  you  consider  that  the  natives  look  upon  rice  as  the 
principal  article  of  food.  These  fresh  vegetables  can  be  bought 
in  the  bazaars,  or  from  market  boats,  or  from  private  farms, 
or  from  Nedou,  the  hotel  proprietor,  or  at  times  from  the 
Club,  which,  as  stated  elsewhere,  has  its  own  kitchen  garden. 
While  the  prices  vary  somewhat  in  the  different  sources  of 
supply,  they  are  all  low  when  compared  to  charges  at  home. 
Nor  are  the  prices  of  imported  foods  as  high  as  one  would 
expect,  when  it  is  remembered  that  some  of  them  come  from 
Europe  to  India  and  have  a  rail  haul  to  Rawal  Pindi  and  a 
two  weeks'  wagon  cartage  into  Srinagar.  Meats  of  various 
kinds  are  to  be  had,  with  the  exception  of  beef,  and  the  reason 
this  is  rarely  had  is  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  the  Maharaja 
is  a  Hindu  and  holds  the  cow  as  a  sacred  object.  To  kill  one 
is  illegal,  though  the  temptation  is  not  great  to  the  average 
European  as  the  cattle  one  sees  are,  for  the  most  part,  small, 
ill-favored  and  bony.  The  only  really  good  stock  belongs  to 
private  individuals  and  is  kept  for  the  milk  and  butter.  Lamb 
and  mutton  are  excellent,  abundant  and  cheap.  There  is  also 
a  good  supply  of  fish,  there  being  some  delicious  trout  to  be 
found  in  the  mountain  streams.  Then,  too,  there  is  a  fairly 
good  supply  of  game  at  certain  seasons. 

One  thing,  however,  should  always  be  borne  in  mind,  and 
that  is  that  the  natives  are  very  negligent  about  what  Occi- 
dentals consider  necessary  sanitary  precautions.  This  is  a  very 

[56] 


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THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

serious  matter,  as  enteric  diseases  are  common  and  at  times 
dangerous;  and  even  serious  cholera  epidemics  have  come  in 
the  past,  though  there  has  been  a  great  improvement  in  this 
respect  since  the  introduction  of  running  water,  which  can  be 
had  from  numerous  taps  in  all  parts  of  the  city.  Great  care, 
too,  is  exercised  in  watching  the  sources  of  water  supply,  the 
condition  of  the  reservoir  and  the  taps  from  which  the  water 
is  drawn.  It  is,  however,  a  curious  and  striking  fact  that  so 
strong  is  the  force  of  inherited  habit,  that  is  if  a  habit  can  be 
inherited,  that  many  of  the  natives,  whose  ancestors  have 
been  accustomed  for  centuries  to  drink  the  water  from  the 
river,  still  prefer  this,  which  is  at  times  little  better  than 
modified  sewerage.  Near  our  houseboat  was  a  flight  of  steps 
to  the  river,  and  there  must  have  been  forty  or  fifty  girls  and 
women  water-carriers  who  came  there  every  day,  all  of  whom 
had  to  pass  two  taps  on  the  way  and  this  was  but  one  of 
hundreds  of  similar  places.  Nor  do  these  natives  take  the 
trouble  to  boil  the  water  before  drinking  it,  though  many  of 
them  let  it  stand  in  a  brass  or  copper  jar,  and  this  is  said  to 
make  it  comparatively  safe.  For  Occidentals,  however,  there 
are  certain  rules  that  should  be  invariably  followed.  The 
water,  no  matter  where  it  comes  from,  should  be  boiled,  and 
so  should  the  milk.  The  greatest  care  should  be  exercised  in 
eating  butter,  which  it  is  better  to  let  alone  unless  you  are 
perfectly  certain  about  it.  Salads,  or  any  vegetables  that  are 
to  be  eaten  raw,  should  be  washed  in  boiled  water  and  all 
uncooked  or  raw  fruits  should  be  carefully  washed.  Finally, 
it  is  a  wise  precaution  to  be  inoculated  for  enteric,  as  the  per- 
centage of  cases  of  enteric  on  the  part  of  people  who  have  been 
inoculated  is  so  slight  as  to  be  inconsiderable.  This,  however, 
it  is  a  good  thing  to  do  in  any  Oriental  country.  I  know  of 
one  family  consisting  of  parents  and  four  young  daughters 
who  were  traveling  for  nearly  two  years  in  countries  where 
enteric  diseases  were  not  only  common,  but  frequently  fatal, 
and  yet,  because  they  had  been  inoculated,  they  never  had 
the  slightest  difficulty. 

[59] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

But  in  order  that  some  idea  of  the  cost  of  the  principal 
articles  of  food  may  be  had,  the  following  list  is  given:  Twelve 
average-size  loaves  of  bread  cost  only  33  cents;  six  pounds  of 
good  mutton  about  the  same;  good-sized  chickens,  20  cents  a 
pair;  ducks,  from  4  to  6  cents  each,  and  10  to  14  cents  in 
summer  when  the  Valley  is  crowded  with  visitors  and  the  de- 
mand quadrupled  for  many  things;  geese,  large  and  fine  ones, 
30  cents;  fish,  3  to  5  cents  for  two  pounds;  eggs,  from  4  to 
8  cents  a  dozen;  milk,  less  than  3  cents  a  quart;  potatoes, 
about  i}4  cents  a  pound,  and  other  vegetables  at  similar 
prices;  apples,  25  cents  a  hundred;  pears,  8  and  10  cents  a  hun- 
dred; melons,  2  to  4  cents  apiece;  apricots  and  peaches,  2  cents 
a  pound;  rice,  2  cents  a  pound;  flour,  3  or  4  cents  a  pound. 

Many  of  the  more  particular  residents  have  their  own  pri- 
vate sources  of  supply  of  milk,  and  Nedou,  the  hotel  keeper, 
has  an  especially  fine  herd  from  which  he  provides  for  his 
hotel  and  a  large  number  of  his  personal  friends  and  patrons 
who  are  in  houseboats.  The  large  majority,  however,  depend 
upon  the  natives  and  the  native  sources  of  supply  that  come, 
in  some  instances,  quite  a  number  of  miles.  This  milk  is 
brought  in  jars  that  are  carried  on  the  heads  of  the  milkmen, 
who,  as  a  rule,  come  from  their  villages  in  companies  of  from 
six  to  twenty  or  thirty. 

Perhaps  no  sight  impresses  the  visitor  for  the  first  time 
more  forcibly  than  the  appearance  of  one  of  these  companies 
of  twenty  or  thirty,  as  they  trot  on  their  way  to  deliver  this 
milk.  As  a  rule  they  start  on  a  trot  and  trot  as  long  as  they 
can,  then  stop  to  rest,  putting  the  jars  in  some  stream  of 
water  to  keep  cool.  As  soon  as  they  are  rested  and  get  their 
breath  they  start  again,  and  this  continues  over  a  distance 
sometimes  from  ten  to  twenty  miles.  Of  course  it  sometimes 
happens  that  on  hot  days  this  milk  changes  its  character  and 
consistency  very  much,  and  as  these  jars  are  washed  with  the 
indifference  of  native  care,  the  blending  and  mingling  of 
microbes  must  be  a  severe  tax  on  the  Kashmiri  stomach. 


[60 


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VI 
FINDING  A  PLACE 

"Then,  the  sounds  from  the  lake — the  low  whisper- 
ing in  boats, 
As  they  shoot  through  the  moonlight; — the  dip- 
ping of  oars" 

— Lalla  Rookh. 

ONCE  you  have  selected  your  houseboat  and  the  neces- 
sary servants  have  been  engaged,  it  is  well  to  decide 
upon  a  place  on  the  river  as  soon  as  possible,  or,  if 
not  on  the  river,  in  one  of  the  canals,  or  perhaps  on  the  Dhal 
Lake.  Where  this  shall  be  is  largely  a  matter  of  taste  and 
convenience.  A  portion  of  the  bank  is  reserved  for  boats 
using  electric  lights,  and  any  boats  not  fitted  up  in  this  way 
must  move  on,  no  matter  how  long  they  may  have  been  in 
place.  This  is  a  very  important  thing  to  know,  as  it  is  ex- 
tremely unpleasant  to  be  compelled  to  move  once  you  have 
become  comfortably  and  satisfactorily  settled.  Several  of 
whom  we  heard  were  greatly  annoyed  by  being  forced  to 
change  after  they  had  been  tied  up  for  several  weeks  in  a 
delightful  spot,  simply  because  some  new  arrival  had  rented  a 
boat  fitted  for  electricity  and  wished  that  place.  Therefore,  if 
your  own  boat  is  not  fitted  for  electricity  and  you  have  chosen 
an  anchorage  in  this  portion  of  the  bank,  you  may  have  a 
visit  from  the  policeman  at  any  time,  and  receive  an  official 
notice  that  the  place  you  are  occupying  is  required  by  a  boat 
having  electric  lights.  They  are  very  polite  about  it  and  full 
of  apologies  for  troubling  you,  but  such  is  the  rule  and  they  are 
merely  doing  what  the  law  requires.  It  is  well,  therefore,  if 
you  have  a  boat  that  is  not  fitted  up  for  electricity,  to  avoid 
this  very  desirable  section  of  the  bank  and  to  choose  a  place 
where  you  are  not  too  far  from  the  Club  and  other  centers  of 
interest.  You  should  make  your  choice  with  due  regard  to 
quiet,  as  some  of  the  landings  are  very  noisy,  especially  when 
near  a  cluster  of  native  houses.   The  verbal  battles  that  take 

[63] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

place,  as  well  as  the  parental  administrations  of  discipline  to 
disobedient  offspring,  mingled  with  the  babble  of  bargaining 
and  the  barking  and  howling  of  fighting  dogs,  are  not  conducive 
to  an  amiable  frame  of  mind.  There  are,  however,  a  large 
number  of  delightful  places,  though  some  of  them  are  a  little 
remote  from  the  Club. 

Another  important  consideration  is  shade.  While  there  are 
many  large  shade  trees  along  both  banks,  certain  places  are 
so  popular  that  when  one  of  them  is  given  up,  there  are  several 
applicants  prepared  to  take  immediate  possession,  and  often 
it  is  purely  a  question  of  which  boat  can  get  there  first.  These 
struggles  frequently  take  place  in  the  early  morning  and  the 
first  intimation  the  occupants  of  the  boat  have  as  to  what  is 
going  on  is  to  be  sharply  awakened  from  a  sound  slumber  by 
a  collision  with  another  boat,  and  the  attendant  violent  vocal 
warfare  that  ensues.  But  when  the  first  flush  of  excitement  is 
over,  the  result  is  accepted  in  the  best  of  good  grace.  These 
servants  who  were  squabbling  violently  a  few  minutes  ago  are 
now  fraternizing,  eating  and  smoking  together  like  the  best  of 
friends. 

There  is,  then,  a  wide  choice  in  the  matter  of  a  place,  and, 
while  the  river  banks  are  very  popular,  some  of  the  delightfully 
shaded  canals  and  the  Dhal  Lake  have  their  staunch  adherents, 
who  wax  eloquent  in  describing  their  advantages  over  the 
river  sites. 

Still  another  important  consideration  is  your  neighbors. 
For  if  they  are  congenial,  each  day  is  a  delight.  Of  course,  old 
comers,  who  have  been  summering  in  the  Valley  for  many 
years,  have  the  best  of  it,  as  they  not  only  know  one  another 
very  well,  but  understand  just  what  to  do  without  any  loss 
of  time. 


[64] 


VII 

THE  PICTURESQUE  RIVER 

"Where  melted  all  to  form  the  stream; 

And  here  fair  islets,  small  and  bright" 

— Lalla  Rookh. 

TRAVELERS  who  are  keenly  sensitive  to  the  beautiful 
and  the  picturesque  are  all  agreed  that  it  would  be 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  find  another  stretch  of 
river  scenery  and  life  to  equal  in  these  respects  that  of  the 
Jhelum,  and  the  more  extensive  their  travels  have  been  the 
more  certain  does  this  conviction  become.  Many  esteem  a 
sail  through  the  Grand  Canal  and  other  canals  of  Venice  to 
offer  one  of  the  most  picturesque  delights  it  would  be  possible 
to  have,  but  even  Venice  must  yield  in  some  respects  to  the 
Jhelum  where  it  flows  through  the  city  of  Srinagar.  This  river 
throughout  its  course  is  very  winding — so  much  so  that  in  a 
journey  of  eighty  miles  by  river  the  distance  by  road  is  only 
sixty  miles — and  these  windings  are  very  much  sharper  and 
more  numerous  in  certain  parts  of  the  river  than  in  others. 

The  city  is  built  on  both  banks  of  the  river,  and  a  more 
interesting  combination  of  buildings  of  all  kinds  and  descrip- 
tions it  would  be  impossible  to  find.  So  great  is  this  variety 
that  a  daily  sail  through  the  seven  miles,  or  under  the  seven 
bridges  that  cross  the  river  at  different  points,  for  eight  months 
never  fails  to  interest  and  delight. 

In  the  upper  part  of  the  city  the  banks  are  lined  with 
houseboats  in  which  the  visitors  live.  But  lower  down  these 
banks,  which  are  sometimes  twenty  and  thirty  feet  high,  have 
a  very  interesting  and  varied  life  at  the  water's  edge,  where 
you  find  laundrymen  and  laundrywomen  at  intervals  all  the 
way  along,  and  bathers,  sometimes  composed  of  groups  of 
men,  others  of  groups  of  women,  and  again  men  and  women 
together.  As  a  rule  this  bathing  takes  place  at  the  foot  of 
some  of  the  wide  stone  steps  that  lead  up  from  the  water  to 

[67] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

the  upper  level  of  the  bank,  and  frequently  in  the  vicinity 
of  a  temple  or  mosque.  There  are  also  a  number  of  small 
bath-houses,  without  roofs,  and  divided  into  very  tiny  little 
cabinets  that  are  hardly  large  enough  for  a  single  person. 
These  are  indulged  in  by  the  more  fortunate,  or  the  better-to- 
do  classes,  who  constitute  but  a  very  small  percentage  of  the 
total  bathing  population. 

This  bathing,  too,  is  a  very  interesting  process  to  witness, 
especially  the  dressing,  for,  while  the  men  are  rather  indifferent 
as  to  how  much  or  how  little  clothing  they  may  have  on,  the 
women  are  exceedingly  modest  and  rarely,  if  ever,  is  there  the 
least  exposure  of  any  portion  of  the  body  besides  the  arms, 
and  head  and  feet.  They  go  into  the  river  with  one  dress  on 
and  when  they  have  bathed  they  have  not  only  washed  their 
bodies  but  the  garments  they  have  been  wearing,  and  when 
they  come  out  they  have  on  the  bank,  or  steps,  another 
garment  which  they  put  on,  and  so  skillful  are  they  in  making 
this  change  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  tell  how  it  is  done. 
One  moment  they  are  clad  in  the  wet,  clinging  clothes  which 
they  have  worn  in  the  river,  and  the  next  by  a  rapid  sleight- 
of-hand  transformation  they  are  dressed  in  dry  garments  of 
most  pleasing  hue. 

Another  interesting  feature  that  is  to  be  seen  at  frequent 
intervals  along  the  bank  is  what  is  called  "beating  out  the 
rice,"  and  this  is  sometimes  done  by  little  children,  and  at 
other  times  by  quite  old  men  and  women.  There  is  a  large 
wooden  or  earthen  jar  in  which  the  rice  is  put,  and  on  either 
side  the  beaters  stand  holding  a  sort  of  pole,  and  they  bend 
over  and  pound  down  on  the  rice  until  it  has  been  entirely 
hulled.  Some  of  the  little  girls  who  do  this  are  so  graceful 
and  so  pretty  that  they  form  a  most  attractive  picture. 

Then,  too,  there  is  a  lot  of  business  done  by  vegetable 
dealers  and  fruit  venders  and  merchants  of  all  sorts  along  the 
river's  edge,  while  above  rise  the  buildings,  some  quite  new 
and  attractive,  and  others  apparently  held  up  by  poles.  These 
sometimes  rise  one  almost  on  top  of  the  other  clear  to  the  highest 

[68] 


Seen  from  the  Takht,  the  Jhelum  winds  its  torturous  course  like  a  great  silver  serpent 
through  the  Valley.   There  is  no  more  inspiring  view  to  be  had  than  from  this  mountain. 


The  River  Jhelum  and  the  canals  that  connect  with  it  form  the  high  roads  for  all  the 
activities  of  the  people,  and  a  sail  over  these  waters  presents  an  ever-changing  panorama 

of  Oriental  life. 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

elevation  of  the  bank.  Some  seem  to  be  on  the  point  of  falling 
into  the  river,  and  nearly  all  have  open  balconies  that  are 
really  living-rooms  which  project  far  beyond  the  front  of  the 
buildings  and  well  over  the  edge  of  the  bank,  and  occasionally 
these  do  fall  into  the  river. 

This  jumble  of  picturesque  buildings  that  have  no  especial 
relation  to  one  another  and  form  a  constantly  varying  mass 
throughout  all  the  seven  miles,  are  animated,  at  least  as  far 
as  the  windows  and  balconies  are  concerned,  by  the  dwellers, 
who  are  sometimes  sewing,  sometimes  weaving,  sometimes 
cooking,  sometimes  reading  or  smoking,  and  very  frequently 
gossiping.  Nor  are  they  ever  so  busy  that  they  cannot  pause 
to  watch  the  boats  of  the  visitors  as  they  pass  by,  for  Euro- 
peans and  foreigners  are  just  as  interesting  to  them  as  they 
are  to  foreigners. 

Moreover,  this  sail  on  the  river  takes  you  past  all  of  the 
principal  palaces  of  the  Maharaja  and  his  ministers,  as  well 
as  the  so-called  European  shops,  that  are  kept  for  the  most 
part  by  natives  or  Parsees,  and  it  is  in  this  way  that  much  of 
the  shopping  is  done  by  the  dwellers  in  the  houseboats,  for 
every  houseboat  has  its  own  kitchen  boat  and  its  own  row- 
boat,  which  as  a  rule  is  a  very  comfortable  affair,  arranged 
with  awnings  and  curtains  to  protect  you  from  the  sun  and 
the  glare  on  the  river,  with  the  rowers  at  either  end.  The 
rowers  are  really  paddlers,  as  there  is  practically  no  rowing 
done,  except  by  the  students  in  the  schools,  where  oars  are 
used. 

It  is  therefore  a  fascinating  and  interesting  experience  to 
sail  all  the  way  down  under  the  seven  different  bridges,  each 
of  which  has  its  own  picturesque  features  and  character.  This 
is  also  the  best  way  to  reach  certain  parts  of  the  city,  because 
you  avoid  the  narrow  and  filthy  streets,  and  by  landing  at  a 
point  near  the  shops  you  wish  to  visit,  it  is  very  easy  to  reach 
almost  any  portion  of  the  city. 

Another  interesting  feature  of  the  river  life  is  the  water- 
carrier,  and  the  water-carrier  may  be  either  a  man  or  a  woman 

[71] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

and  either  young  or  old.  The  men  for  the  most  part  carry 
skins  that  are  filled  with  water,  while  the  women  carry  jugs, 
and  some  of  these  jugs  that  the  little  girls  bear  are  almost  a 
third  of  their  own  height.  It  is  astonishing  how  cleverly  they 
fill  them  and  then  place  them  on  their  heads  and  balance  them 
as  they  climb  the  steps.  Their  indifference  to  sanitary  matters 
is  also  indicated  in  the  way  in  which  this  is  done.  A  woman, 
or  several  women,  as  these  water-carriers  frequently  go  about 
in  groups,  will  descend  to  the  river's  edge  and  there  they  will 
wash  their  hands  and  faces  and  feet,  and  almost  at  the  same 
moment  fill  their  jugs  with  the  water  in  which  they  have  been 
bathing. 

These  features  are  only  a  few  of  the  almost  infinite  variety 
that  goes  to  make  up  the  setting  of  the  river  life,  while  above 
and  beyond  are  the  splendid  chenar  trees.  Rising  higher  still 
in  the  distance,  is  the  magnificent  mountain  wall.  In  the 
upper  part  of  the  river  where  it  is  pretty  wide  and  the  banks 
are  free  from  buildings  and  beautifully  wooded,  it  is  quite 
customary  for  the  dwellers  in  the  houseboats  to  put  up  tents 
and  camp  there  for  a  season.  This  sort  of  camp  life  is  often 
very  charming,  especially  about  afternoon  tea-time,  when  peo- 
ple are  calling  on  and  entertaining  one  another. 

Still  farther  up  the  river  the  houseboats  become  less  fre- 
quent, and  while  there  are  some  beautiful  homes  embowered 
in  flowers  and  shade  trees,  it  is  much  quieter,  although  with 
the  exception  of  July  and  August  even  this  portion  of  the 
river  presents  a  very  animated  picture,  especially  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  afternoon. 

There  are  of  course  some  phases  of  the  life  on  the  river 
that  are  less  attractive  than  others,  as  for  instance  the  fact 
that  the  river  is  treated  by  the  natives  as  a  sort  of  glorified 
sewer  and  all  sorts  of  filth  are  emptied  into  it,  and  it  not 
infrequently  happens  that  you  see  a  dead  dog,  or  a  dead  cow, 
or  a  dead  chicken  go  floating  by  your  houseboat.  Fortunately 
these  unattractive  and  rather  gruesome  features  are  com- 
paratively rare. 

[72] 


BEATING  OUT  THE  RICE 

The  roll  of  centuries  has  left  but  little  impress  upon  many  of  the  customs  of  the  people 

of  this  remote  Valley.    This  typical  scene  on  the  banks  of' the  River  Jhelum  is  the  same 

today  as  it  was  centuries  ago. 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

I  have  spoken  chiefly  of  the  river  life  in  so  far  as  it  concerns 
the  city  itself  and  shall  reserve  anything  that  may  be  said 
beyond  this  for  other  chapters,  especially  the  one  devoted  to 
Islamabad. 


[75] 


VIII 
THE  DHAL  LAKE 

"Oh!  to  see  it  at  sunset,  when  warm  o'er  the  lake 
Its  splendor  at  parting  a  summer  eve  throws" 
— Lalla  Rookh. 

THERE  is  probably  no  one  name  that  one  hears  more 
frequently  mentioned  than  the  Dhal  Lake,  and  my 
impression  is  that  there  was  hardly  a  day  during  our 
eight  months  in  the  Valley  that  passed  without  some  allusion 
being  made  to  this  fascinating  body  of  water.  This  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  it  is  a  favorite  place  for  picnics  and  excursions 
and  campers,  so  that  people  are  coming  and  going  almost 
constantly  and  the  chances  are  that  in  the  course  of  a  day 
one  would  meet  a  number  of  people  who  would  either  ask 
if  you  were  going  to  the  Dhal  Lake  today,  or  tell  you  that 
they  or  some  of  their  friends  had  been  or  were  going,  or  that 
some  special  function  was  to  take  place  there  or  on  its  shores. 
And  it  is  well  worthy  of  all  the  attention  it  receives,  as  it 
never  fails  to  delight  and  is  remembered  with  the  greatest 
pleasure.  As  stated  elsewhere,  one  of  the  finest  views  of  this 
Lake  is  to  be  had  from  the  Takht-i-Suleiman,  and  one  realizes 
at  the  first  glance  that  what  is  called  a  lake  is  in  reality  a 
combination  of  canals,  rivers,  various  bodies  of  water,  and 
marshes.  Probably  this  interesting  variety  has  much  to  do 
with  its  great  charm.  It  is  not  a  very  extensive  body  of  water, 
being  but  five  miles  long  and  about  two  miles  wide,  and  while 
in  places  it  is  shallow  and  inclined  to  be  marshy,  in  other 
places  it  is  very  deep.  But  everywhere  the  water  is  as  clear 
as  crystal  and  one  sees  the  bottom  in  most  parts  with  perfect 
distinctness. 

Possibly  the  most  striking  feature  associated  with  the  Lake 
is  the  wonderful  mountain  amphitheater  that  rises  on  three 
sides  beyond  it  to  a  height  of  from  three  to  four  thousand 
feet  above  the  water.    On  the  ground  at  the  foot  of  these 

[76] 


THE  NISHAT  BAGH  OX  DHAL  LAKE 

During  the  time  of  the  Delhi  Emperors  some  of  these  great  Moguls  used  Kashmir  as 

their  playground  and  summer  residence,  surrounding  themselves  with  everything  that 

was  luxurious  and  beautiful.   These  exquisite  gardens,  now  belonging  to  the  Maharaja, 

give  the  traveler  a  glimpse  into  Kashmir's  romantic  past. 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

mountains  and  at  the  edge  of  the  Lake  there  are  many  villages 
that  are  frequently  surrounded  by  orchards,  and,  as  already 
stated,  several  very  renowned  gardens  that  were  constructed 
by  the  famous  Delhi  Emperors. 

Towards  the  west  it  is  open  and  flat  and  it  is  here  that  you 
find  the  curious  floating  gardens — gardens  that  are  made  of 
earth  and  vegetable  matter  accumulated  on  water  plants.  So 
prominent  a  feature  are  these  gardens  that  possibly  a  few 
words  in  regard  to  them  may  not  be  amiss.  The  natives  col- 
lect a  certain  kind  of  weed  that  has  a  great  deal  of  air  in  the 
roots  and  tie  these  together  in  strips,  each  of  which  is  about 
four  feet  broad  and  twenty  to  thirty  feet  long,  and  sometimes 
they  will  extend  them  so  that  they  look  like  huge  vegetable 
rafts  floating  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  On  these  a  certain 
amount  of  earth  is  placed  in  which  the  seeds  are  planted.  It 
is  quite  wonderful  what  choice  and  large  melons,  cucumbers, 
tomatoes,  eggplants,  etc.,  are  raised,  as  all  of  these  seem  to 
grow  most  luxuriantly  with  comparatively  little  care  and  are 
a  source  of  important  revenue  to  the  natives.  Occasionally, 
however,  they  meet  with  what  is  almost  in  the  nature  of 
disaster,  for  a  strong  wind  or  heavy  storm  will  tear  them  to 
pieces  and  scatter  them  all  over  the  surface  of  the  Lake,  with 
the  result  that  all  the  labor  and  all  the  fruit  is  lost.  In  order 
that  one  may  realize  the  extent  of  these  floating  gardens,  it 
has  been  estimated  that  if  they  could  be  brought  together,  it 
would  probably  make  an  area  several  miles  square.  As  it  is,  one 
sees  them  here  and  there,  in  all  parts  of  the  Lake,  especially  in 
protected  bays  where  they  are  less  liable  to  destruction. 

In  this  direction,  too,  there  is  a  sort  of  half-reclaimed 
marsh,  that  alternates  with  strips  of  shallow  water,  and  beyond 
this  the  city  itself.  As  already  stated,  the  Dhal  is  not  one 
sheet  of  water,  but  is  divided  by  causeways  and  projecting 
marshland  into  three  different  portions,  and  it  is  in  parts  so 
covered  with  aquatic  plants  that  comparatively  little  water 
is  to  be  seen  by  the  end  of  summer.  Going  up  the  Nasim  Bagh 
in  a  small  boat,  it  takes  about  an  hour  from  the  Dhal  gate 

[79] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

to  the  Lake.  At  first  the  canal  passes  between  small  fields 
and  orchards,  but  after  traveling  about  a  mile,  the  village  of 
Renawari  is  passed.  To  the  left  one  notices  a  temple  that 
stands  far  out  into  the  water,  and  close  by  this  is  a  landing- 
place  where  much  of  the  lake  produce  is  sold.  Continuing  on 
the  picturesque  canal  through  the  village  you  soon  come  to 
the  three-arch  stone  bridge  which  crosses  the  canal.  There 
the  canal  branches,  one  portion  turning  to  the  left.  This  is 
called  the  Cadal  Mullah  and  on  its  banks  you  notice  an  old 
ruined  mosque,  called  Hassanabad,  which  has  the  distinction 
of  being  one  of  the  very  few  stone  mosques  in  Kashmir.  Near 
by  are  many  of  the  graves  of  the  kings  and  nobles  of  the 
thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries.  Soon  after  this  the  canal 
spreads  out  into  a  series  of  wide  lakelets  that  extend  around 
the  foot  of  Hari  Parbat. 

The  main  canal  goes  straight  on  through  groves  of  willow 
and  gardens  and  wide  open  spaces  alternately  for  about  two 
miles  before  opening  into  the  Lake.  On  the  edge  of  the  Lake 
there  is  a  village  with  a  large  mosque  called  Harzrat  Bal,  be- 
cause of  the  supposed  hair  of  the  prophet  which  is  said  to  be 
kept  there  and  shown  on  certain  days,  when  fully  half  the 
city  gathers  to  see  it.  A  little  further  on  is  the  Nasim  Bagh. 
This  is  a  fine  park-like  expanse,  closely  planted  with  magnifi- 
cent chenar  trees  and  rises  so  high  above  the  Lake  that  it 
catches  the  breezes  and  thence  its  name.  During  the  early 
summer  months  this  is  considered  the  most  delightful  encamp- 
ment on  the  Lake  and  several  yachts  have  been  built  in 
recent  years.  Others  have  chosen  this  spot  for  camping  on 
account  of  the  sailing  advantages  it  offers,  and  occasionally 
some  regattas  have  been  held.  Unfortunately  much  of  the 
masonry  and  foundations  of  the  terraces  have  been  destroyed, 
but  the  trees  are  at  their  best,  and  no  more  exquisite  view  of 
the  open  expanse  of  the  Lake  and  the  splendid  snow-crowned 
top  of  Mahadev  is  to  be  had  anywhere  than  that  from  under 
the  dense  shade  of  these  noble  trees. 

[80] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

In  the  middle  of  this  part  of  the  Lake  is  the  so-called  Char 
Chenar  Island,  which  is  an  artificial  island  about  forty  yards 
square.  After  passing  the  Nasim  Bagh  you  come  to  a  village 
and  some  large  houses,  not  far  from  which  is  an  oil  factory. 
At  this  corner  of  the  Lake  the  River  Telbal  flows  in.  Up  this 
boats  can  go  for  nearly  two  miles,  and  it  is  not  only  exceedingly 
pretty,  but  there  is  excellent  fishing  to  be  had  and  the  water 
is  intensely  cold.  About  a  mile  to  the  east  of  this  is  the  canal 
of  the  Shalimar  Gardens,  which  are  about  a  mile  in  length. 
The  Shali  Bagh,  as  the  Kashmiri  call  it,  is  a  large  walled 
enclosure  on  sloping  ground  at  the  foot  of  the  narrow  valley 
which  emerges  here  from  the  hills  that  encircle  the  Lake.  The 
terraces  have  been  planted  with  orchards  and  chenar  trees, 
and  the  banks  are  bordered  by  an  avenue  on  either  side,  while 
at  the  end  of  each  terrace  a  summer-house  flanks  the  water- 
falls. There  is  a  fine  fall  on  the  upper  terrace  that  is  quite 
surrounded  by  water  and  fountains,  and  the  pillars  of  the 
veranda  are  made  of  polished  marble  brought  from  Pampur. 
The  upper  part  of  the  garden,  the  name  of  which  means  "Abode 
of  Love,"  was  set  apart  for  the  Emperor's  Zenana,  and  it  is 
well  worthy  of  Jehangir's  fair  Queen,  Nur  Mahal,  to  whose  taste 
and  love  of  beautiful  scenery  the  Mughal  Gardens  in  Kashmir 
bear  eloquent  witness.  A  few  years  ago  there  was  a  banquet 
given  on  the  King's  birthday  at  the  Shalimar  Bagh,  and  the 
scene  on  this  occasion  is  said  to  have  been  very  weird  and 
fascinating  because  of  the  glitter  of  the  myriad  of  lamps  that 
illumined  the  beautiful  dresses  and  fair  faces,  and  the  play 
and  splash  of  the  fountains  blended  with  the  singing  of  the 
dancers.   There  is  a  heronry  on  one  side  of  the  garden. 

After  leaving  the  Shalimar  Bagh  you  come  to  the  Nishat 
Bagh,  passing  under  a  stone  bridge  on  the  way  where  the 
Sutoo  crosses  the  Lake  and  then  enters  the  middle  and  its 
longest  portion.  Just  in  front  of  the  bridge  is  the  Nishat  Bagh, 
or  "Garden  of  Gladness,"  the  terraces  of  which  cover  the 
steep  slopes  of  the  hill.  Fronting  the  Lake  there  is  a  large 
house  and  after  this  a  series  of  terraces,  of  waterfalls  and 

[81] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

fountains  that  play  on  Sundays  and  festal  occasions.  On  the 
upper  platform  there  are  some  stately  chenar  trees  and  the 
waterfalls  are  of  considerable  height.  The  highest  elevation 
is  far  above  the  Lake,  which  it  commands  and  of  which  there 
is  a  glorious  view  across  the  Valley.  This  is  considered  by 
many  to  be  the  most  charming  spot  on  the  Lake  and  is  very 
popular  with  picnickers,  as  it  has  the  advantage  of  being 
comparatively  near  the  Shalimar  Bagh.  Coming  back  from 
the  Nishat  Bagh  the  boat  traverses  the  whole  length  of  the 
Lake,  near  the  middle  of  which  in  this  portion  is  the  Rupa 
Lanka,  an  artificial  island  with  a  few  small  trees.  About  half 
way  between  this  and  the  Takht  there  is  a  narrow  strait 
through  which  you  enter  the  southern  part  of  the  Lake.  There 
is  no  more  delightful  horseback  ride  in  the  Valley  of  Kashmir 
than  the  bridle-path  which  leads  around  the  edge  of  the 
Takht,  as  well  as  that  which  commands  the  waters  of  the 
Lake  from  time  to  time  through  vistas  in  the  trees.  It  is  in 
this  general  direction  that  some  of  the  most  delightful  country 
houses,  with  their  beautiful  gardens,  are  to  be  seen,  all  of 
which  are  usually  occupied  in  the  summer  months  by  European 
visitors. 


[82] 


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IX 
SHOPS  AND  BAZAARS 

"All  were  abroad — the  busiest  hive 
On  Bela's  hills  is  less  alive" 

— Lalla  Rookh. 

THE  shops  contribute  largely  to  the  comfort  of  the 
visitors  and  residents,  because  in  them  are  to  be  found 
all  of  the  European  supplies  in  the  way  of  clothing  and 
foods  and  materials  of  various  kinds,  as  very  few  of  these 
imported  articles  are  to  be  had  in  the  native  bazaars.  Many 
of  these  shops,  as  stated  elsewhere,  are  kept  by  Parsees,  or 
natives  of  the  more  important  class,  though  a  few  belong  to 
Europeans,  but  the  articles  to  be  found  at  each  are  very 
much  alike.  For  the  convenience  of  visitors  most  of  them  are 
located  along  the  river  bank  and  some  are  large  and  well 
stocked,  being  somewhat  like  a  small  department  store.  It  is 
in  this  section,  too,  that  the  Punjab  Bank  is  to  be  found,  and 
it  is  a  very  busy  place  on  certain  days  and  at  certain  times 
during  the  month,  for,  while  there  are  other  banks,  or  business 
houses  that  do  a  little  banking,  this  is  the  chief  financial  center 
and  has  a  branch  in  Gulmarg  during  the  summer  season. 

When  one  considers  the  long  distances  imported  articles 
have  to  be  carried  in  the  bullock  carts  over  the  mountain 
passes,  it  is  surprising  what  a  variety  is  to  be  found  in  these 
shops  and  how  excellent  is  the  quality.  Naturally  the  prices 
for  imported  articles  are  considerably  higher  than  those  of 
similar  articles  to  be  found  in  the  native  bazaars  and  many 
who  desire  to  economize  patronize  the  latter  very  largely  and 
only  buy  in  the  shops  what  they  cannot  find  in  the  bazaars. 

These  bazaars,  like  nearly  all  Oriental  bazaars,  are  very 
picturesque  and  interesting,  especially  during  the  first  visit. 
But  if  one  goes  frequently,  the  dirt  and  smells  and  crowds  and 
general  insanitary  condition  of  some  of  the  narrow  streets 
become  offensive.    They  are  very  numerous,   however,   and 

[85] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

stretch  for  some  miles  on  either  bank  of  the  river  or  on  the 
streets  that  run  back  from  the  river  and  parallel  with  the 
river.  Indeed  most  of  these  streets  are  lined  with  bazaars, 
which  sometimes  open  into  the  side  streets  or  ramify  off  in 
other  directions.  They  are  patronized  chiefly  by  the  natives 
and  the  scene  around  certain  of  them,  made  up  as  it  is  of  men 
and  women  and  children,  all  endeavoring  to  make  the  best  bar- 
gain they  can  (the  shopkeeper  trying  to  get  as  high  a  price 
as  possible  and  the  purchaser  to  give  as  low  a  sum  as  he  can 
get  the  article  for),  is  frequently  a  very  animated  one.  Indeed, 
a  peaceful  tourist  might  think  a  diminutive  riot  is  going  on. 
At  these  bazaars,  which  are  all  open  to  the  street  and  display 
their  wares  practically  on  the  street,  are  to  be  found  all  sorts 
of  native  products  and  some  imported  articles,  such  as  cotton 
cloths,  watches  and  certain  kinds  of  hardware. 

The  bazaars  where  food  is  sold  are  always  very  crowded 
at  certain  hours  of  the  day,  and  it  is  surprising  to  find  how 
much  cheaper  some  articles  can  be  bought  here  than  in  the 
shops.  But  one  does  not  feel  much  inclined  to  buy  such  arti- 
cles as  rice,  flour,  meal,  sugar  and  salt  after  he  has  seen  them 
handled  and  poked  by  the  natives  and  witnessed  the  swarms 
of  flies  that  light  on  them  and  come  from  them.  These  facts, 
however,  do  not  seem  to  disturb  the  natives  themselves  in  the 
very  slightest  degree. 

The  shops  where  carved  furniture,  silver,  bronzes  and 
brasses  are  to  be  found  are  for  the  most  part  in  private  houses, 
or  what  have  been  private  houses  and  changed  into  shops.  The 
tailors,  however — and  there  are  a  great  many  of  them — have 
shops  in  the  bazaars,  and  these  are  frequently,  like  the  bazaars 
themselves,  open  to  the  street,  although  the  more  important 
ones  that  cater  to  European  trade  have  arranged  rooms  in  the 
rear  of  the  front  where  their  goods  are  to  be  seen  in  greater 
privacy  and  where  the  measurements  are  taken  and  the  gar- 
ments are  tried  on.  At  some  of  these  it  is  quite  surprising  to 
find  such  excellent  materials,  and  even  more  so  to  see  how 
well  the  garments  are  cut  and  made,  especially  if  the  purchaser 

[86] 


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THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

has  a  garment  of  a  certain  style  that  he  can  give  the  tailor 
as  a  sample.  One  of  these  men,  for  instance,  has  a  cutter  who 
was  taught,  or  learned  his  trade,  in  a  London  shop  where  there 
were  many  American  patrons ;  and  some  of  the  garments  made 
by  this  tailor  are  so  well  cut  and  shaped  that  it  is  impossible 
to  realize,  or  to  believe,  that  they  have  not  come  from  London, 
or  Paris,  or  New  York. 

More  astonishing,  however,  than  all  else,  and  seemingly 
incredible  to  many,  is  the  cost  of  these  articles.  For  instance, 
one  gentleman  had  a  suit  of  homespun  that  had  been  made 
in  America  and  for  which  he  had  paid  eighty  dollars.  As  this 
was  getting  a  little  old  he  asked  one  of  the  tailors  if  it  would 
be  possible  to  get  any  more  cloth  like  it.  The  tailor  said: 
"Certainly,  I  can  get  you  some  exactly  like  that."  The  gen- 
tleman asked  how  long  it  would  take,  and  was  told  about 
three  weeks.  The  gentleman  exclaimed:  "What!  is  this  pos- 
sible? How  can  you  get  cloth  out  from  England  in  so  short  a 
time  as  that?"  "Oh!"  the  tailor  replied,  "it  would  not  be 
brought  out  from  England.  It  would  be  made  here."  "What!" 
the  gentleman  questioned,  "can  cloth  like  this  be  made  here 
in  Kashmir?"  "Yes,"  said  the  tailor,  "and  if  it  is  not  satisfac- 
tory you  need  not  take  it.  The  only  thing  necessary  will  be 
to  loan  me  one  of  your  garments  so  that  I  can  give  it  to  the 
weaver  who  will  make  the  cloth." 

This  was  done  and  in  less  than  a  month  a  piece  of  cloth  large 
enough  for  a  couple  of  suits  of  clothes  was  shown  the  gentle- 
man, and  so  nearly  like  his  own  was  the  material  that  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  distinguish  one  from  the  other,  the  only 
difference  being  in  favor  of  the  native  product,  which  seemed 
somewhat  nicer  in  quality.  This  suit  of  clothes  was  made  and 
lined  with  silk,  there  being  three  garments — a  coat,  waistcoat 
and  trousers — and  when  it  was  finished  it  fitted  just  as  well 
as  the  suit  that  he  had  been  wearing.  For  this  suit  of  clothes, 
made  of  cloth  that  had  been  especially  woven  for  him  and  lined 
with  an  excellent  quality  of  silk,  he  paid  only  the  equivalent  of 
a  little  more  than  six  dollars  as  against  eighty  dollars.    His 

[89] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

wife  was  so  pleased  with  this  experiment  that  she  took  the 
balance  of  the  cloth  and  had  it  made  into  a  dress  that  would 
have  cost  her  at  least  a  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  at  home,  and 
for  which  she  paid  seven  dollars. 

And  what  is  true  of  this  suit  is  true  of  all  the  clothes  and 
cloth  made  in  the  Valley  by  the  natives,  and  though  it  really 
seems  incredible  that  such  could  be  the  case,  it  is  an  absolute 
fact.  These,  however,  represent  the  expensive  and  extravagant 
suits,  as  a  homespun  suit  without  silk  lining  could  be  bought 
for  from  between  three  and  four  dollars,  and  with  such  suits 
a  cap,  or  hat  of  some  sort  is  made  of  the  same  material  without 
charge. 


[90] 


A  STRIKING  EXAMPLE  OF  THE  KASHMIRI'S  SKILL  IN  WOOD-CARVING 

This  is  a  two- panel  section  of  a  four-panel  screen  that  was  made  to  order  by  wood-carvers 
of  Kashmir.  The  side  of  the  screen  shown  in  the  illustration  carries  the  Lhassa  design, 
the   reverse  side  being  carved   in   the   Kashmiri   design   of   flowers,   leaves  and  vines. 


X 
WOOD-CARVING  AND  SILVERWARE 

"In  Fairy-land,  whose  streets  and  towers 
Are  made  of  gems  and  light  and  flowers" 
— Lalla  Rookh. 

PROBABLY  nothing  is  more  surprising  to  the  visitor  than 
the  wonderful  beauty  of  the  wood-carving  that  is  done 
here,  and  his  surprise  is  all  the  greater  because  the 
chances  are  that  he  has  heard  little  or  nothing  about  it  before 
coming  to  the  Valley.  The  writer  by  chance  met  a  British 
officer  just  before  going  to  Kashmir  who  in  a  measure  prepared 
him  for  what  he  would  find.  He  had  been  speaking  of  the 
carving  and  the  screens  in  Egypt  and  regretted  that  he  had 
not  bought  one  of  these,  when  this  British  officer  said:  "Well, 
you  needn't,  because  you  can  get  something  far  more  beautiful 
and  far  less  expensive  in  Kashmir."  So  one  of  the  earliest 
visits  he  made  after  settling  in  the  Valley  was  to  these  wood- 
carvers. 

Here  we  found,  as  indicated  in  a  former  chapter,  that 
houses  had  been  turned  into  warerooms  by  the  carvers  for  the 
display  of  their  goods  and  some  of  the  rooms  were  crowded 
with  natives  engaged  in  doing  the  carving  itself.  This  is  of  so 
beautiful  and  delicate  a  character  that  one  hesitates  to  attempt 
to  describe  it,  even  in  the  simplest  way,  for  fear  of  appearing 
to  exaggerate,  and  yet  one  who  is  familiar  with  this  work 
realizes  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  do  this,  so  remarkable 
are  these  specimens  of  wood-carving.  The  present  Queen  of 
England  was  so  impressed  by  them  that  at  the  time  of  her 
visit  to  the  Durbar  in  India  she  ordered  a  large  number  of 
pieces,  some  of  which  were  made  from  designs  that  she  herself 
composed,  merely  selecting  details  from  their  own  designs  and 
so  combining  them  so  as  to  suit  her  wishes  and  tastes.  This, 
however,  any  purchaser  can  do,  as  it  is  merely  a  matter  of 
giving  the  dealer  an  idea  of  the  kind  of  piece  of  furniture  you 

[93] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

wish  and  then  choosing  from  the  great  variety  of  designs  those 
that  you  prefer. 

The  favorite  designs,  however,  are  called  the  Lhassa  and 
the  Kashmiri.  In  the  former  the  dragon  and  animals  prevail, 
and  in  the  latter  flowers  and  vines  and  leaves.  A  visit  to  these 
shops  is  a  great  treat  to  any  lover  of  beautiful  work,  and  the 
skill  and  cleverness  shown  in  meeting  the  wishes  of  purchasers 
is  very  great.  Moreover,  these  articles  can  be  made  to  order 
and  shipped  to  America  with  such  care  that  comparatively 
little  damage  is  done.  Of  course  there  is  a  certain  amount  of 
breakage,  notwithstanding  this  care,  but  the  writer  had  a  large 
number  of  pieces  made  and  the  proportion  of  damage  was 
comparatively  slight  and  the  repairs  were  readily  made  by  a 
carpenter,  not  a  wood-carver,  here  in  America. 

A  very  satisfactory  arrangement  for  a  visitor  or  purchaser 
to  make  is  to  select  the  articles  he  wishes  as  soon  as  he  arrives 
in  the  Valley  and  have  them  made  of  such  sizes  and  forms  as 
suit  the  room  in  which  he  wishes  to  place  them  at  home,  and 
then  use  these  articles  in  his  own  cottage  or  houseboat  during 
his  stay.  Of  course,  if  they  are  of  a  very  elaborate  character 
and  they  cannot  be  found  already  made,  it  may  require  some 
time — indeed,  certain  of  the  articles,  like  the  more  elaborate 
four-fold  screens  that  have  the  Lhassa  design  on  one  side  and 
the  Kashmiri  on  the  other,  might  require  possibly  a  year  to 
make.  But  these  can  be  made,  and  will  be  if  the  purchaser 
so  desires,  with  his  own  crest  and  his  own  coat-of-arms,  so 
that  they  will  have  that  measure  of  added  individuality  intro- 
duced in  such  a  way  as  to  seem  a  perfectly  natural  part  of 
the  design. 

There  are  a  number  of  men  who  do  this  work,  all  of  whom 
are  good,  but  it  is  well  to  visit  them  all  and  to  place  one's 
orders  with  the  dealer  who  is  most  highly  recommended  by 
reliable  residents.  The  writer  himself  had  his  articles  made  by 
three  different  men,  and  the  only  difficulty  lay  in  insisting 
upon  the  fulfilment  of  the  contract  exactly  as  made.   The  pic- 

[94] 


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THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

tures  will  give  some  idea  of  the  grace  and  beauty  of  the  articles 
as  well  as  the  designs  and  the  workmanship. 

This  wood-carving  has  a  possible  rival  in  the  silverwork 
that  is  done  here,  much  of  which  is  of  very  great  beauty,  and 
frequently  the  same  dealer  will  have  a  silverware  department, 
so  that  you  can  choose  from  the  quaint  and  interesting  designs 
or  samples  the  figures  or  forms  that  have  the  most  satisfyingly 
beautiful  lines.  One  of  the  unusual  samples  is  the  adaptation 
of  the  beggar's  bowl  for  table  use.  The  designs  that  are  en- 
graved, of  course,  vary  with  the  tastes  of  the  purchaser,  but 
the  favorite  design  to  be  found  here  is  that  of  the  Kashmir 
shawl,  and  the  tea  sets  and  various  articles  that  are  engraved 
with  this  design  are  very  charming  and  very  delicate  in  their 
loveliness. 

This  ware,  like  the  wood-carving,  is  comparatively  inex- 
pensive, somewhat  more  expensive  than  the  foods  and  clothing, 
it  is  true,  but  the  cost  is  very  low  compared  with  what  such 
articles  would  bring  in  Europe  or  America,  especially  the  latter. 

Another  ware  that  is  to  be  found  in  these  shops  is  papier- 
mache  work,  and  this  is  made  in  candlesticks,  vases,  boxes, 
paper  holders,  and  paper  knives,  in  fact  a  very  wide  variety 
of  articles.  The  decorations  for  the  most  part  are  in  design 
and  color  like  those  of  the  beautiful  old  Kashmir  shawls, 
some  being  very  delicate  and  subdued,  and  others  bolder  and 
stronger  and  more  effective,  but  all  rich  and  beautiful. 


[99] 


XI 
NATIVE  INDUSTRIES 

"When  maids  began  to  lift  their  heads, 
Refresh'd,  from  their  embroidered  beds" 
— Lalla  Rookh. 

UNDER  this  heading  I  wish  to  speak  of  the  silk  factory, 
which  is  a  large  and  flourishing  organization  and  em- 
ploys four  thousand  men,  women  and  children.  This 
is  a  very  ancient  industry  in  the  Valley,  but  it  has  only  quite 
recently  been  brought  to  its  present  stage  of  perfect  develop- 
ment, for  the  factory  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  best  equipped 
silk  factories  in  the  world.  The  product  of  the  looms  is  of  a 
very  high  grade  and  forms  an  important  factor  in  the  output 
of  the  Valley.  To  provide  the  silk,  of  course,  the  cultivation  of 
the  mulberry  and  the  silkworm  is  very  general  in  different  parts 
of  the  Valley.  It  has  been  stated  by  an  authority  in  these 
matters  that  this  factory  is  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  the 
world,  and  is  heated  and  lighted  by  electric  power.  It  is 
entirely  under  European  supervision  and  the  output  has  in- 
creased each  year  until  between  one  and  two  hundred  thousand 
pounds  of  raw  silk  are  now  being  turned  out.  Besides  this,  in 
one  year  over  twelve  hundred  men  who  are  spread  over  the 
Valley  took  silkworm  eggs  from  the  factory  and  brought  in 
their  cocoons,  receiving  nearly  two  lakhs  of  rupees  for  their 
six  weeks'  labor.  Weaving  silk  on  hand-looms  has  also  been 
started  on  a  small  scale  experimentally.  This  silk  factory  is 
open  to  visitors  on  any  morning  and  is  one  of  the  really  inter- 
esting things  to  see. 

There  is  also,  as  elsewhere  stated,  a  very  successful  carpet 
factory.  The  Scottish  proprietor  when  he  came  to  Srinagar 
some  years  ago  found  a  small  effort  of  this  kind  being  made, 
and  has  simply  developed  it  until  it  has  reached  its  present 
large  proportions.  There  was  no  attempt  made  to  change  the 
ideas  or  the  designs  or  the  methods  of  weaving,  but  to  improve 

[  ioo] 


CHILDREN  OF  KASHMIR  WEAVING  RUGS 

In  the  rug-making  industry,  which  is  the  life-work  of  many  of  the  natives  from  genera- 
tion to  generation,  the  entire  family  work  at  the  looms,  from  the  tiny  tots,  whose  inborn 
skill  needs  little  training,  to  the  old  grandfather  whose  bent  form  still  hovers  over  the 
task  that  has  held  him  and  his  fathers  before  him. 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

them  wherever  this  was  possible,  and  so  all  that  is  good  that 
has  been  inherited  from  the  past  in  the  way  of  color  and  de- 
signs and  workmanship  has  been  retained  and  made  more  suc- 
cessful because  the  work  is  being  done  under  more  favorable 
conditions.  A  visit  to  this  factory  is  another  of  the  really  in- 
teresting things  to  be  done. 

When  you  first  enter  the  grounds,  you  are  taken  to  a  room 
where  the  designing  is  done,  and  are  struck  by  the  fact  that 
several  of  the  designers  seem  to  have  hair  and  beards  of  a 
peculiar  and  unnatural  shade  of  red.  When  you  ask  why  it  is 
that  so  many  of  them  are  like  this  and  inquire  if  it  happens 
to  be  a  family  characteristic,  you  are  told  no,  that  it  is  simply 
because  these  men  have  become  gray,  or  that  their  hair  is 
white,  and  they  don't  like  to  look  old  and  so  they  stain  their 
hair  and  beards  this  peculiar  shade  of  red,  which  happens  to 
be  the  fashionable  color  with  them  at  the  present  time. 

These  men  show  you  the  designs  that  they  have  made  on 
paper,  some  of  which  are  in  black  and  white  and  others  are  in 
color,  and  when  these  designs  have  been  finished  they  are 
taken  in  sections  to  the  loom  and  given  to  the  weaver.  If  one 
man  is  to  complete  the  rug,  which  is  usually  the  case,  he  has 
all  of  the  different  sections  numbered  and  arranged  in  order, 
so  that  he  can  start  his  rug  and  by  consulting  his  design, 
which  is  beside  him,  go  on  and  complete  it  without  any  diffi- 
culty whatever. 

This  carpet  factory  is  not,  like  the  silk  factory,  in  a  modern 
and  fine  brick  building,  but  is  just  a  series  of  small  wooden 
sheds  such  as  have  been  used  for  a  great  many  years,  only 
they  have  been  made  as  comfortable  and  as  sanitary  as  the 
conditions  will  permit.  In  each  of  these  sheds  there  may  be 
several  looms  and  the  loom  will  be  tended  by  one  or  two, 
or  more,  according  to  the  size  of  the  rug.  It  is  of  course  very 
interesting  to  go  from  loom  to  loom  and  see  the  rugs  in  their 
different  stages  of  development.  When  this  has  been  done 
and  visits  have  been  made  to  the  dyeing  department — a  very 
important  one,  for  almost  everything  depends  upon  the  quality 

[  103] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

of  the  dye  and  the  tones  of  the  colors — the  visitor  is  taken  to 
the  warehouse  and  shown  a  large  number,  if  he  chooses  to  see 
them,  of  the  completed  products;  some  of  these  are  small  rugs 
a  few  feet  square,  while  others  are  practically  carpets,  twenty 
or  thirty  feet  square.  In  fact  almost  any  size  of  rug  can  be 
made  that  is  desired  and  orders  are  received  from  England  and 
elsewhere  for  rugs  to  cover  entire  floor  spaces. 

In  conclusion  one  perhaps  ought  to  call  attention  to  the 
fact  that  the  article  more  generally  associated  with  Kashmir 
than  any  other,  that  is  the  Kashmir  shawl,  is  no  longer  manu- 
factured in  the  Valley,  nor  has  it  been  for  a  number  of  years. 
These  beautiful  fabrics  are  now  a  "drug  on  the  market"  and 
can  be  had  for  a  song.  Yet  one  can  see  from  the  designs  shown 
that  it  is  a  pity  that  it  is  becoming  a  lost  art. 


104] 


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XII 
SOCIAL  LIFE 

"And  the  nightingale's  hymn  from  the  Isle  of  Chenars 
Is  broken  by  laughs  and  light  echoes  of  feet 
From  the  cool,  shining  walks  where  the  young  people  meet" 

— Lalla  Rookh. 

VERY  much  could  be  said  about  the  social  life  in  the 
Valley,  but  the  chief  factors  are  the  British  Resident 
and  the  Maharaja.  I  put  the  Resident  first  simply  be- 
cause I  do  not  feel  qualified  to  say  very  much  about  the  native 
social  life.  The  Residency  was,  at  least  during  our  stay  in 
Kashmir,  the  chief  center  of  social  life  among  the  English- 
speaking  residents  and  visitors,  although  it  so  happened  at 
this  time  that  the  Maharaja,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  chapter 
devoted  to  him,  entered  far  more  into  this  society  than  he 
had  hitherto,  on  account  of  the  numerous  festivities  that 
celebrated  the  marriage  of  his  handsome  and  engaging  heir — 
his  nephew. 

The  Stuart-Frasers — the  Resident,  his  wife  and  charming 
family — were,  as  a  Scottish  gentleman  said,  the  very  soul  of 
hospitality,  and  as  will  be  seen  in  the  chapter  devoted  to  the 
Residency,  this  lovely  spot  was  the  gathering  place  of  pretty 
much  all  the  English-speaking  residents,  both  permanent  and 
official.  Every  week  there  were  events  of  some  kind  and  some 
weeks  there  were  several ;  all  were  charming  and  delightful  not 
only  because  of  the  cordial  hospitality,  but  also  on  account  of 
the  fascinating  informal  atmosphere  that  prevailed.  There 
was  a  certain  amount  of  modified  state  and  formality,  but  it 
was  so  graciously  blended  with  perfect  ease  and  charm  of 
manner  that  it  had  all  the  winsomeness  of  a  sort  of  glorified 
English  country  house  life.  Indeed,  at  times  it  was  hard  to 
realize  that  you  were  thousands  of  miles  from  England,  so 
entirely  was  this  true.  But  there  were  other  factors  in  this 
social  life  beside  these,  as  all  the  members  of  the  Resident's 
official  family,  as  well  as  the  English  officials  associated  with 

[  107] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

the  Maharaja's  developments  of  his  realm,  took  a  delightful 
and  prominent  part.  They  also  gave  dinners,  receptions  and 
dances  so  often  that  there  was  no  time  for  tedium  or  "to  kill." 
Moreover,  these  are  remembered  by  the  writer  as  among  the 
most  delightful  souvenirs  of  life  in  the  Valley.  Then,  too,  the 
Chaplain's  home  was  a  frequent  gathering  place  of  all  who 
cared  to  come  for  teas,  badminton  parties  and  receptions. 
Another  prominent  factor  was  the  family  of  the  head  of  the 
Church  Mission  School,  and  many  a  delightful  day  is  associated 
with  them,  not  only  at  the  school  and  their  home,  but  also 
at  the  picturesque  al  fresco  teas  beside  the  lake,  where  the 
guests  were  asked  to  witness  the  regattas  and  the  swimming 
and  diving  contests,  as  well  as  other  water  sports. 

The  Neve  brothers  likewise  filled  an  important  place  in 
this  social  life,  not  only  at  the  hospital,  where  visitors  were 
numerous  and  cordially  welcomed,  but  at  the  picturesque 
home  beside  the  river  of  Arthur  Neve  and  his  wife.  No 
experience  in  the  Valley  is  likely  to  be  remembered  longer 
than  a  visit  to  the  lovely  spot  where  the  lepers  live,  and  after- 
noon tea  was  served  in  the  boats  under  the  shadow  of  those 
splendid  chenar  trees  that  provide  delicious  shade  in  some 
of  the  harbor  nooks  along  the  lake.  The  beauty  of  these  was 
enhanced  by  the  wonderful  coloring  at  sunset,  as  one  rowed 
down  the  lake  to  the  Dhal  gate. 

Nor  do  these  events  by  any  means  exhaust  the  list  of  de- 
lightful social  gatherings,  for  pretty  much  everybody  did 
something  and  as  the  cottages  and  houseboats  were  numerous 
there  was  hardly  a  day  that  did  not  have  some  form  of  enter- 
tainment and  some  days  had  many,  sometimes  in  the  lovely 
gardens  of  the  cottages,  at  others  in  the  houseboats  on  the 
river  or  on  the  roof  of  the  boats  under  the  awnings,  or  again 
on  the  river  bank  under  the  shade  of  the  trees  or  the  protecting 
shelter  of  a  marquee.  It  was  a  never-failing  pleasure  to  simply 
row  up  and  down  the  river  and  watch  the  pretty  pictures  of 
the  social  life  as  we  passed  along. 

[108I 


A  GARDEN  PARTY  AT  THE  RESIDENCY 

The  Honorable  Resident  conferring  a  Kaiser-i-Hind  medal  of  the  first  class  upon  the 
Reverend  C.  E.  Tyndale-Biscoe,  under  the  shadow  of  the  British  flag.  The  Maharaja 
will  be  seen  in  the  center  background,  applauding,  with  the  members  of  his  own  and 

the  Resident's  staff. 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

Then,  too,  the  Club  was  the  daily  gathering  place  for  nearly 
everyone.  There  were  certain  hours  in  the  morning  and  after- 
noon when  you  were  sure  to  meet  a  large  number  of  your 
friends  in  or  about  the  Club.  Tennis,  riding,  golf  and  polo 
had  their  place  as  purely  social  factors,  for  the  number  of 
charmingly  dressed  girls  and  women  who  were  onlookers  far 
outnumbered  the  players.  There  was  no  lack  of  social  life 
and  at  times  it  seemed  as  though  there  was  more  than  one 
could  take  advantage  of.  While  it  is  certainly  true  that  one 
who  comes  with  letters  enters  into  this  social  life  far  more 
quickly  and  pleasantly  than  one  who  does  not,  yet  so  real  is 
this  hospitality  that  the  wish  of  all  seems  to  be  to  promote 
the  happiness  of  as  many  as  possible. 

Naturally,  a  large  proportion  of  the  temporary  residents  are 
officers  and  their  families  who  have  come  from  their  different 
posts  for  a  little  refreshment  and  change,  but  as  many  of  them 
have  seen  service  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  there  is  a 
cosmopolitan  atmosphere  that  is  very  agreeable  after  the  in- 
sularity and  provincialism  met  in  some  quarters.  Of  course 
this  life  would  not  be  quite  complete  without  a  slight  measure 
of  gossip  and  mild  scandal,  but  this  is,  as  a  rule,  of  so  com- 
paratively harmless  a  character  that  it  gives  what  some  con- 
sider a  very  welcome  zest  to  the  day's  experiences. 

One  rather  surprising  feature  is  to  find  that  native  princes 
and  their  wives  are  to  some  extent  a  part  of  the  social  life  here. 
One  of  them  was  almost  constantly  seen  on  the  polo  fields, 
the  golf  links,  in  the  Gulmarg  Club,  and  even  in  private 
houses.  Yet  more  surprising  still  was  the  unusual  popularity 
of  a  certain  Begum,  who  with  her  husband  had  traveled 
extensively  and  who  was  here  a  great  favorite  among  the 
cottagers,  with  some  of  whom  she  had  tea,  or  to  whom  she 
gave  tea  almost  daily.  Naturally  as  this  particular  lady  was 
in  purdah,  being  a  Mohammedan,  the  male  contingent  were 
supposed  to  see  little  if  anything  of  her  features,  but  as  this 
purdah  sometimes  consisted  merely  of  the  protection  afforded 
by  a  small  sunshade  drawn  down  over  her  head  when  she  was 

[in] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

on  her  walks  through  the  woods,  walkers  and  riders  had 
occasional  accidental  glimpses  of  her  face.  Nor  was  this 
purdah  assumed  because  of  prejudices,  for  she  had  dressed  as 
Europeans  do  when  on  her  travels,  but  was  now  worn  simply 
as  a  recognition  of  what  was  expected  of  her  by  her  own  people 
when  in  her  own  country.  It  will  perhaps  be  seen  from  all 
this  that  the  social  life  in  the  Valley  may  claim  variety  as 
well  as  charm. 


[112] 


StmcUbVr, 


<**£) 


XIII 
THE  RESIDENCY 

"Visions  by  day  and  feasts  by  night" 

— Lalla  Rookh. 

THE  grounds  of  the  Residency  stretch  along  the  river 
bank  at  a  point  where  it  is  especially  attractive  and 
in  the  section  where  the  Club  and  many  official  resi- 
dences are  to  be  found.  Several  of  the  latter  are  embowered 
in  flowers  in  a  way  that  is  wonderfully  beautiful  and  entirely 
indescribable.  From  the  shady  walk  that  skirts  the  bank  of 
the  river  for  several  miles  one  gets  a  good  view  of  the  river 
facade  of  the  Residency  and  the  impression  is  of  a  large  but 
charming  home,  rather  than  a  vast  and  pretentious  palace, 
and  this  impression  is  intensified  when  you  have  passed 
through  the  portals  to  the  grounds  and  stand  on  the  lovely 
lawn  under  the  shade  of  those  splendid  trees  and  beside  the 
beautifully  flowering  plants,  bushes  and  trees,  with  the  other 
vine-covered  fagade  just  in  front  of  you.  Nor  is  this  impression 
disturbed  when  you  enter  the  hall  or  go  about  through  the 
delightful  rooms.  It  is  merely  just  such  an  interior  as  the 
exterior  would  lead  you  to  expect,  and  precisely  the  sort  of 
atmosphere  that  you  would  find  in  any  of  the  lovely  homes  of 
England.  Indeed  at  the  first  dinner  given  us  at  the  Residency 
we  several  times  forgot  that  we  were  not  in  England  and 
found  ourselves  speaking  just  as  though  we  were  there.  While 
it  is  true  it  is  not  England,  yet  somehow  this  atmosphere 
makes  you  feel  at  times  as  though  this  must  be  a  fascinating 
English  home  with  its  beautiful  park  and  glorious  vistas  and 
its  delightful  expression  of  hospitality.  Again,  it  is  indeed 
hard  to  realize  that  England  is  thousands  of  miles  away,  and 
when  you  are  attending  a  ball  or  reception  in  these  delightful 
rooms  it  is  almost  impossible  to  believe  that  you  are  two 
hundred  miles  from  the  nearest  railroad  station. 

[115] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

As  already  intimated,  the  hospitality  of  the  Residency  is 
worthy  of  the  house  and  setting.  It  is  true  that  this  might 
not  be  the  same,  or  at  least  not  quite  the  same,  if  there  were 
not  a  charming  host  and  hostess  with  an  equally  charming 
family.  At  this  time  there  were  two  daughters,  who  were 
called  by  their  friends  and  admirers  "the  rosebuds."  It  all 
seemed  just  as  it  should  be,  harmonious  and  complete,  and 
from  early  in  April  till  late  in  October  the  Residency  breathed 
hospitality,  whether  here  or  in  Gulmarg.  We  had  only  been 
in  the  Valley  a  few  days  when  we  received  an  invitation  to  a 
lawn  fete,  and  after  that  it  was  a  succession  of  garden  parties, 
tennis  parties,  luncheons,  dinners,  dances,  tableaux  and  con- 
certs. 

Here,  too,  one  met  not  only  all  of  the  Resident's  official 
family  and  their  wives  and  children,  but  also  all  of  the  dis- 
tinguished visitors  and  officials  who  were  passing  through 
Kashmir.  It  was  here  that  all  important  functions  were  held, 
save  of  course  such  as  were  more  fitting  in  the  Maharaja's 
palace.  Possibly  the  most  delightful  features,  if  one  may  choose 
any  special  features  among  so  many  that  are  equally  delight- 
ful, were  the  garden  parties,  and  as  one  moved  about  among 
the  noble  shade  trees  and  saw  the  British  flag  flying  from  the 
flag-staff  in  the  distant  vista,  the  landscape  garden  effects 
represented  so  fascinating  a  blending  of  things  English  and 
things  Kashmiri  that  not  infrequently  people  had  a  feeling 
of  being  in  the  grounds  of  Windsor  Castle,  instead  of  those  of 
the  Residency  in  Kashmir. 

These  garden  parties,  too,  were  chosen  as  happy  moments 
for  the  conferring  of  medals  and  honors  in  behalf  of  the  King 
or  the  Maharaja.  For  instance,  at  a  garden  party  held  on 
the  twenty-third  of  May,  19 12,  the  Honorable  Resident  in 
Kashmir  presented  a  Kaisar-i-Hind  medal  of  the  first  class 
to  the  Reverend  C.  E.  Tyndale-Biscoe.  In  doing  this  the 
Honorable  Mr.  Stuart-Fraser  said: 

"It  is  a  privilege  which  I  value  highly  to  be  charged  by 
His   Excellency,   the  Viceroy,  with  the  presentation  to  the 

[116] 


Here  is  shown  the  Seventh  Bridge  that  crosses  the  Jhelum  at  the  outskirts  of  Srinagar. 
In  the  distance  is  seen  the  Hill  of  the  Fort  that  stands  as  sentinel  to  the  city. 


V"  P  *   ■-' 

• 

1 

■ 

^ 

■ 

■          ; 

,  '" 

i  .  #•*! 

- 


The  garden  facade  of  the  British  Residency,  which  for  a  large  portion  of  the  year  fairly 
glows  with  floral  beauty  and  reminds  the  traveler  of  a  beautiful  English  country  home. 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

Rev.  Mr.  Tyndale-Biscoe,  here  in  the  presence  of  His  Highness 
the  Maharaja  and  his  many  other  Indian  and  European  ad- 
mirers, of  the  Kaisar-i-Hind  medal  of  the  first  class,  which 
was  conferred  upon  him  at  the  time  of  the  Delhi  Coronation 
Durbar.  There  is  so  much  that  might  be  said  about  Mr.  Biscoe 
that  I  find  it  not  easy  to  choose  my  words,  and  to  cut  this 
function  as  short  as  he — the  most  modest  of  men — would,  I 
feel,  like.  His  work  is  generally  known  to  all  who  know 
Kashmir.  For  over  twenty  years  Mr.  Biscoe,  as  principal  of 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  schools,  has  devoted  his  life, 
and — if  he  will  let  me  add — his  money  to  the  task  of  teaching 
the  youth  of  Kashmir  and  training  their  moral  and  physical 
qualities.  A  man  of  dominating  personality  by  the  application 
of  public  school  and  commonsense  methods,  by  his  insight  into 
human  nature,  and  above  all  by  his  own  life  and  courageous 
example,  he  has — after  overcoming  difficulties  that  would  have 
defeated  any  one  not  gifted  with  his  enthusiasm  and  happy 
sense  of  humor — succeeded  in  establishing  a  position  for  his 
schools  unique  in  this  or  any  other  State.  While  his  pupils 
are  well  taught  and  hold  their  own  with  any  in  the  examina- 
tions, the  feature  which  distinguishes  Mr.  Biscoe's  from  all 
other  schools  that  I,  at  least,  have  seen  in  India  is  his  marvelous 
success  in  building  up  the  character  as  well  as  the  bodies  of 
his  boys. 

"An  old  Cambridge  Blue,  he  has  taught  the  Kashmiri 
pundit  to  row  and  to  rejoice  in  rowing;  himself  a  notable 
swimmer,  he  has  produced  a  school  of  swimmers,  and  I  don't 
know  of  any  other  set  of  boys  who  could  perform  as  they  do 
the  feat  of  swimming  across  the  Dhal  and  the  Wular  Lakes. 
Mr.  Biscoe  asks  no  one  to  do  what  he  cannot  do  himself  and 
if  you  will  visit  his  schools  you  will  see  the  boys  of  all  ages 
practicing  the  art  of  self-defense,  which  he  has  taught  them, 
with  boxing  gloves  and  single-sticks.  But  more  remarkable  is 
what  Mr.  Biscoe  has  done  for  the  characters  of  his  pupils. 
We  hear  much  in  these  days  about  the  need  for  moral  teaching 
and  the  problem  is  the  most  difficult  one  that  faces  the  edu- 

[119] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

cationist.  The  solution  is  not  a  matter  of  text-books  but  of 
example,  and  the  difficulty  would  disappear  if  there  were  more 
men  like  Mr.  Biscoe.  Practical  morality  is  his  principle,  and 
long  before  the  Boy  Scout  movement — than  which  there  has 
seldom  I  think  appeared  one  so  full  of  hope  for  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  race — had  taught  thousands  of  boys  in  England  and 
the  Colonies  the  ambition  of  doing  some  one  a  good  turn  if 
possible,  every  day,  Mr.  Biscoe  had  been  teaching  his  boys 
here  in  Srinagar  by  example  as  well  as  by  precept  the  dignity 
of  service.  His  boys  save  lives  from  drowning,  they  assist  at 
putting  out  fires  in  the  city,  they  help  the  weak  and  decrepit 
in  the  streets,  they  take  out  convalescents  from  the  hospitals 
for  outings  on  the  river  and  lake,  and  they  are  imbibing  from 
their  master  his  righteous  intolerance  of  cruelty  to  animals. 

"Ladies  and  gentlemen,  these  achievements  sound  wonder- 
ful, but  since  I  have  come  to  Kashmir  I  have  seen  for  myself 
how  they  are  really  taking  place.  And  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  Mr.  Biscoe's  influence  on  the  character  of  his 
pupils  is  one  that  persists  beyond  their  school  days  and  goes 
with  them  into  life  and  service.  Kashmir  owes  an  incalculable 
debt  to  Mr.  Biscoe.  But  the  gain  of  Kashmir  has  been  the 
loss  of  England,  for  I  use  the  language  of  no  conventional 
compliment  in  expressing  my  belief  that  he  is  one  of  those 
rare-born  leaders  of  boys  and  men  who  would  have  been  a 
tower  of  strength  to  any  of  our  most  famous  public  schools 
at  home.  The  motto  of  his  schools  is:  In  all  things  be  men. 
Mr.  Tyndale-Biscoe  is  a  man,  and  he  is  one  of  whom  we  are 
all  proud.  Long  may  he  be  here  to  continue  his  great  work  in 
our  midst." 


120  ] 


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-W-2 


XIV 
THE  MAHARAJA 

"Th*  imperial  Selim  held  a  feast 

In  his  magnificent  Shalimar" 

— Lalla  Rookh. 

HIS  Highness  Major-General  Sir  Pratap  Singh,  G.  C.  S.  I., 
Maharaja  of  Jammu  and  Kashmir,  is  considered  by 
many  to  be  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  picturesque 
Oriental  rulers  associated  with  the  British  Dominions,  and 
while  he  is  a  man  well  past  middle  life,  he  is  well  preserved 
and  active,  and  seems  much  younger  than  he  is.  His  dominions 
of  Jammu  and  Kashmir  cover  an  extensive  area  and  comprise, 
as  has  already  been  indicated,  some  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
strikingly  picturesque  portions  of  the  world.  The  population 
is  not  large,  probably  less  than  four  million,  and  the  ruler 
inherited  his  domains  from  his  father,  who  received  them 
from  their  founder,  Gulab  Singh,  his  grandfather. 

Owing  to  the  variety  of  climatic  conditions,  he  has  prac- 
tically three  distinct  homes,  one  in  Jammu,  where  he  lives 
during  the  winter;  one  in  Srinagar,  where  he  has  a  very  fine 
palace  and  extensive  grounds  and  makes  his  home  during 
spring  and  autumn;  and  the  third  is  his  mountain  home  in 
Gulmarg,  where  he  is  in  residence  during  July  and  August. 
His  popularity  among  all  classes  is  indicated  by  the  warmth 
and  cordiality  of  the  welcome  he  receives  each  year  when  he 
returns  to  his  palace  in  Srinagar.  As  will  be  seen  by  one  of 
the  pictures,  so  enthusiastic  were  his  subjects  on  one  occasion 
that  the  river  was  spanned  by  ropes  so  tied  together  that  the 
acrobatic  members  of  Mr.  Tyndale-Biscoe's  school  were  able 
to  arrange  themselves  in  such  a  way  that  the  positions  of 
their  bodies  spelled  the  word  "Welcome." 

Another  of  the  pictures  shows  the  Maharaja  arriving  in 
his  royal  boat,  attended  by  a  retinue  of  officers  and  servants, 
and  a  vast  horde  of  admirers  in  smaller  boats.  On  these  oc- 
casions all  the  buildings  lining  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  all 

[  123] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

the  boats  upon  the  river  are  gaily  decorated  with  flags,  bunting 
and  lanterns,  and  on  one  or  two  nights,  at  least,  the  vicinity 
of  his  palace  is  made  exceedingly  brilliant  by  the  superb  display 
of  fireworks. 

While  this  welcome  is  extended  to  him  every  year,  it  was 
of  an  especially  interesting  nature  at  the  time  of  our  visit 
because  of  the  added  feature  of  his  nephew's  recent  marriage, 
and  the  extensive  and  delightful  hospitalities  in  connection 
with  this  event,  one  of  the  first  being  the  state  dinner,  to  which 
the  invitation  was  as  follows: 

His  Highness  Major-General  Sir  Pratap  Singh,  G. C.S.I. 

Maharaja  of  Jammu  and  Kashmir 

requests  the  pleasure  of 

Rev.  and  Mrs.  Ward  Denys' 

company  at  Dinner 

on  Tuesday,  the  3rd  of  June,  at  7.40  p.  m.  R.  s.  V.  P.  to 

Assistant  Resident 

This  dinner  would  have  been  considered  a  brilliant  occasion 
in  almost  any  part  of  the  world,  and  it  had  the  usual  speeches 
and  toasts  of  welcome.  Preceding  it  was  a  reception,  at  which 
all  were  presented  to  the  Maharaja  or  paid  him  their  respects. 
It  was  a  very  interesting  mingling  of  European  costumes  with 
Oriental  color,  the  heir  apparent  being  clad  in  superb  garments 
and  adorned  with  gorgeous  jewels  of  almost  incalculable  value. 
In  order  that  it  may  be  seen  how  almost  lavish  was  this 
monarch's  hospitality,  the  following  menu  is  given: 

MENU 
Hors  d'oeuvres  Variees 

Consomme  Fausse  Tortue 
Potage  Creme  d'Asperges 

Truite  Bouilli  See  Hollandaise 

Cailles  a  la  Bourdelaise 
Cotelettes  en  chaudfroid  aux  Champignons  farcies 

Selle  de  Mouton  r6ti 

Salade  de  Saison 

Canetons  aux  Petits  Pois 

Pyramide  de  Macarons  au  Chocolat 
Peches  Melba 


Jambon  Grillee  au  Madere 
Desert 


WINES 

Sherry 

La  Torre 

Vin  Blanc 

Graves 

Hock 

Hockheimer 

Burgundy 

Beaune 
Yalumba 

Claret 

St.  Julien 

Champagne 

Bollinger  1904 

Port 

Camroux  &  Co. 
White  &  Tawney 

Liquers 

Kummel 

Creme  de  Menthe 
Benedictine 
Grand  Marnier 

Cognac 

Justerini  and  Brooks 

[124] 


PRINCE  HARI  SINGH,  THE  HEIR  APPARENT  TO  THE  THRONE 

The  Prince  is  the  nephew  of  the  Maharaja  and  is  the  successor  to  the  throne  of  Jammti 

and  Kashmir.     He  is  a  young  man  of  striking  personality,  a  sportsman  proficient    in 

polo,  golf  and  cricket,  and  is  held  in  high  esteem. 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

Throughout  the  dinner  the  native  band  played  the  follow 
ing  pieces  of  music: 

PROGRAMME  OF  MUSIC 


I. 

March 

"Scipio" 

Handel 

2. 

Overture 

"Light  Cavalry" 

Suppe 

3- 

Morceau 

"St.  Malo" 

Kiefert 

4- 

Suite 

"Russe" 

Kanz 

5- 

Duet 

"Under  the  Moon" 

Lauder 

6. 

Galop 

"Wally" 

Phillips 

This  dinner  was  followed  by  a  series  of  festivities  and 
entertainments  of  all  sorts  that  lasted  until  the  14th  of  June, 
and  concluded  with  another  dinner  given  in  honor  of  the 
wedding  of  Raja  Humar  Hari  Singh  Sahib.  This  differed  little 
from  the  other  save  that  on  this  occasion  the  Maharaja  himself 
read  a  somewhat  extensive  speech  in  English,  beginning  with: 
"I  feel  highly  honored  by  your  cordial  acceptance  of  my  invi- 
tation to  grace  this  festive  occasion,"  and  ending  with  these 
words:  "I  therefore  ask  you,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  to  be 
good  enough  to  drink  to  the  health  of  my  dear  nephew,  Hari 
Singh,  may  he  live  long  and  be  happy  and  prosperous." 

Among  the  various  parties,  receptions  and  dinners,  perhaps 
none  was  more  charming  than  the  garden  party  given  at  the 
Nishat  Bagh,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  all  the  gardens 
belonging  to  the  Maharaja.  This  garden  owes  its  beauty  not 
only  to  its  wonderful  landscape  features  of  trees,  shrubs, 
flowers,  pools,  cascades,  temples  and  pagodas,  but  also  to  the 
extensive  view  that  it  commands  of  the  Dhal  Lake  and  the 
superb  panorama  of  mountain  peaks,  rising  above  twenty 
thousand  feet  in  height  and  all  clad  with  a  beautiful  white 
mantle  throughout  the  year. 

At  this  particular  garden  party  practically  all  of  the  British 
residents  of  the  Valley  were  present,  as  well  as  all  of  the 
Maharaja's  officers  of  state  and  the  chief  citizens.  At  the 
dinners  there  were  probably  between  two  and  three  hundred 
guests,  but  at  this  garden  party  they  must  have  counted  into 
the  thousands.   There  seemed  to  be  an  almost  endless  proces- 

[  127] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

sion  of  vehicles  on  the  way  to  the  garden,  which  is  several 
miles  distant  from  Srinagar,  and  a  perfect  flotilla  of  boats, 
as  it  is  possible  to  approach  by  both  land  and  water. 

Another  event  of  especial  interest  was  the  cricket  match, 
in  which  the  Maharaja  himself  took  part.  He  is  a  keen  lover 
of  sport  of  all  kinds,  excepting  sport  that  means  the  taking  of 
life,  in  which  he  never  indulges.  His  love  of  cricket,  for  in- 
stance, is  so  great  that,  in  spite  of  his  years,  he  never  fails  to 
take  part  in  a  certain  number  of  matches,  and  he  is  as  keen 
as  the  youngest  member  present  in  the  matter  of  making  as 
large  a  score  as  possible.  Nor  is  this  interest  discouraged  by 
his  British  friends,  who  see  to  it  that  his  score  is  always  a  satis- 
factory one  to  himself.  Of  course  he  does  not  attempt  to  run 
— that  is  done  by  another  for  him — but  he  does  bat  and  some- 
times surprisingly  well.  Naturally  when  he  makes  a  particu- 
larly good  hit  the  native  enthusiasm  is  almost  wild  in  its 
demonstration  of  delight,  but  it  is  well  sustained  by  all  the 
members  of  the  British  community  who  are  present.  At  this 
and  all  similar  occasions  there  is  a  tent,  or  oftentimes  three  or 
four  tents,  where  refreshments  of  all  sorts  are  served  on  a 
very  liberal  scale.  Nothing  is  stinted  as  to  quantity  or  quality, 
and  the  very  best  that  can  be  had  is  invariably  provided,  even 
in  the  matter  of  liquors  and  cigars. 

Another  event  in  which  the  Maharaja  felt  a  very  keen 
interest  was  the  polo  match,  in  which  his  nephew,  Hari  Singh, 
took  part  as  captain  of  the  native  team.  This  nephew,  by-the- 
bye,  is  a  good  all-round  sport  and  a  splendid  specimen  of 
manly  vigor  and  beauty.  Moreover,  he  seems  to  have  the 
true  spirit  of  a  real  sport,  for  he  is  as  able  to  accept  defeat  as 
he  is  success.  He  is  also  a  very  good  golfer  and  tennis  player, 
but  the  Maharaja,  his  uncle,  does  not  attempt  either  of  these 
games. 

The  following  invitation,  from  which  it  will  be  seen  that 
even  the  children  were  included  in  this  series  of  wedding 
festivities,  will  indicate  how  thoughtful  the  Maharaja  was  of 
persons  of  all  ages. 

[128] 


The  chief  palace  of  His  Highness,  The  Maharaja,  at  Srinagar,  whose  impressive  facade 
rises  sheer  from  the  waters  of  the  Jhelum. 


Most  any  member  of  the  family  is  pressed  into  this  service.    Here  the  daughter  is 
ing,  while  the  young  son  trots  along  to  see  that  the  job  is  well  done. 


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THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

Rajkumar  Hari  Singh  Sahib's  Wedding  Festivities 

His  Highness  The  Maharaja  of  Kashmir 

AT  HOME 

on  Friday,  13th  June,  at  Rajkumar,  Hari  Singh's  Shergarhi  House, 
at  5.30  p.  m. 

Children's  Party 

During  July  and  August,  as  already  stated,  the  court  moves 
to  Gulmarg,  and  when  I  say  the  "court"  I  mean  the  Maharaja 
and  his  entourage,  as  well  as  the  British  Resident,  and  the 
officials  associated  with  him  in  the  administration  of  British 
interests  in  Kashmir.  There  at  an  elevation  of  eight  thousand 
five  hundred  feet,  the  Maharaja  has  a  series  of  cottages  where 
he  lives  during  these  two  months.  The  days  are  far  too  short 
for  the  social  and  other  activities  that  take  place;  for  it  is  a 
continuous  series  of  golf,  tennis,  dances,  dinners,  afternoon 
receptions  and  balls.  In  all  of  these  the  Maharaja  takes  a 
deep  interest  and  some  of  them  he  attends  in  person.  During 
our  stay  in  Srinagar  he  was  present  at  the  garden  parties 
given  by  the  British  Resident  on  a  number  of  occasions,  and 
on  one  of  them,  when  a  sale  was  being  held  in  behalf  of  a  local 
charity,  the  Maharaja  was  one  of  the  most  generous  pur- 
chasers. Indeed,  he  was  so  generous  that  when  he  happened 
to  win  a  valuable  article  in  a  lottery,  he  instantly  returned  it 
and  it  was  sold  at  auction  for  a  very  large  sum. 

It  will  be  seen  that  there  is  no  effort  being  made  in  this 
chapter  to  give  a  biography  or  history  of  the  Maharaja,  but 
merely  some  slight  idea  of  his  personality,  in  the  hope  that 
it  may  be  shown  why  he  is  so  popular  and  so  highly  esteemed. 


[  133] 


XV 
THE  CLUB 

"If  woman  can  make  the  worst  wilderness  dear, 
Think,  think  what  a  heaven  she  must  make  of  Cashmere" 

— Lalla  Rookh. 

PROBABLY  nothing  holds  a  more  important  place  in  the 
social  life  of  all  who  come  to  the  Valley  than  the  Club. 
It  is,  in  a  sense,  a  center  of  life  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year,  though  during  the  spring  and  autumn  when  the  number 
of  visitors  is  at  its  maximum  it  plays  a  more  important  role 
than  at  any  other  time. 

It  is  very  fortunate  in  its  situation  as  its  grounds  join  those 
of  the  Residency,  being  separated  only  by  a  narrow  lane.  Its 
outlook  on  the  river  is  probably  the  most  delightful  one  upon 
the  bank,  which  at  this  point  is  perhaps  higher  than  almost 
anywhere  else,  and  the  space  has  been  increased  by  a  sort  of 
balcony  that  has  been  built  out  over  the  river  itself.  This 
balcony  is  so  large  as  to  form  a  kind  of  square  in  front  of  the 
Club.  The  side  adjoining  the  river  is  a  continuous  series  of 
benches,  and  from  these  one  not  only  has  an  extensive  view 
of  some  miles  up  and  down  the  river,  but  also  of  the  beautiful 
country  on  the  opposite  bank  and  the  mountain  wall  beyond. 
This  square,  as  well  as  all  the  verandas  of  the  Club,  presents  a 
very  charming  and  animated  picture  for  an  hour  or  two  before 
luncheon,  and  again  from  afternoon  tea  on  until  dinner  time,  as 
these  are  the  hours  when  nearly  everybody  tries  to  look  in  at 
least  for  a  few  minutes. 

The  Club  house  itself  is  very  well  adapted  to  the  purpose, 
having  reading  rooms,  card  rooms,  refreshment  rooms,  a 
library  and  large  assembly  room.  Here  one  can  find  all  of  the 
leading  English  and  Indian  papers  and  magazines,  and  by 
English  I  mean  some  of  those  printed  in  America  as  well.  The 
library  itself  is  unusually  well  selected,  especially  with  refer- 
ence to  matters  of  local  interest  in  Kashmir  and  its  surround- 
ings. 

[134] 


The  Srinagar  Club,  always  the  scene  of  life  and  gaiety,  has  an  ideal  setting  in  the  shade 
of  a  magnificent  chenar  grove  on  the  mirrored  waters  of  the  Jheluni  with  the  Takht  as 

a  background. 


The  entrance  to  Gulmarg  is  lined  with  native  bazaars.    Gulmarg  is  the  official  summer 
home  of  the  Maharaja  and  the  British  Resident.    The  Gulmarg  Club  and  cottages  are 

seen  in  the  distance. 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

The  tennis-courts  are  just  in  the  rear  of  the  Club  and  at 
certain  seasons  are  almost  too  popular,  so  great  is  the  number 
wishing  to  play,  and  the  tennis  tournaments  are  certain  of  a 
large  and  interested  gallery.  From  time  to  time  entertainments 
are  given  in  the  assembly  room,  and  now  and  then  occur 
illustrated  lectures  by  distinguished  travelers  or  mountain 
climbers.  While  this  Club  is  devoted  chiefly  to  English  and 
Europeans,  one  sometimes  sees  native  princes,  though  rarely, 
if  ever,  any  of  the  local  native  residents. 

The  golf  links  are  also  connected  with  this  Club,  although 
they  are  some  distance  away.  But  the  tennis  players,  golf 
players,  polo  players  and  cricket  players,  all  find  their  way 
to  the  Club  at  the  conclusion  of  their  games  and  the  assemblage 
is  very  frequently  a  gay  and  merry  one.  The  requisites  for 
admission  are  simple  and  the  fees  are  very  light. 

There  is  one  feature  of  the  Club  that  makes  it  quite  unusual 
and  that  is  the  kitchen  garden,  in  which  various  fresh  vege- 
tables are  raised  and  sold  to  members  of  the  Club  at  practically 
cost  prices.  The  importance  of  this  is  appreciated  by  those 
who  live  there  and  realize  how  necessary  it  is  to  exercise  the 
greatest  care  in  all  sanitary  matters,  for  the  Kashmiri,  like 
all  Orientals,  are  inclined  to  be  very  careless  and  indifferent 
about  such  things,  with  the  result  that  enteric  diseases  are 
more  or  less  common  and  sometimes  very  severe. 

Owing  to  the  situation  of  the  Club  upon  the  bank  of  the 
river,  which  has  a  delightful  walk  several  miles  in  length  that 
runs  in  front  of  some  of  the  more  interesting  residences  and 
important  shops  and,  for  the  most  part,  is  deliciously  shaded 
by  the  huge  and  beautiful  chenar  trees,  it  is  easily  possible  for 
one  who  wishes  to  see  friends  to  simply  wait  until  they  pass 
by,  for  nearly  all  of  the  residents  in  the  city  are  pretty  sure 
to  go  up  and  down  at  least  twice  a  day  on  their  way  to  the 
post  office  or  the  shops,  or  to  make  calls. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  this  Club  not  only  has  very 
attractive  but  also  very  practical  advantages,  not  the  least  of 
which  is  its  accessibility  from  the  river  by  boat  and  from  the 

[  137] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

land  by  carriages,  horses  and  on  foot.  As  it  is  adjacent  to  the 
Residency  the  members  can  always  learn  the  latest  telegraphic 
news  from  all  parts  of  the  world  by  simply  crossing  the  path 
and  reading  the  bulletins  that  are  posted  in  the  main  portal 
to  the  Residency  grounds. 


[138] 


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d  w 


XVI 
SPORTS 

"And  waked  to  moonlight  and  to  play" 
— Lalla  Rookh. 

SPORTS  naturally  fill  a  very  important  place  in  a  com- 
munity that  is  in  a  sense  very  largely  of  a  vacation 
character,  for  during  the  season  the  majority  of  the 
temporary  residents  are  there  simply  for  their  vacations.  They 
consist  largely  of  civil  and  military  officials  with  their  wives 
and  families,  pretty  nearly  all  of  whom  are  not  only  accustomed 
to  the  various  forms  of  sport,  but  as  a  rule  are  extremely  fond 
of  them.  Among  these,  as  already  intimated  in  other  chapters, 
tennis,  golf,  polo,  cricket,  badminton,  croquet,  sailing  and 
riding  fill  an  important  place. 

TENNIS 

The  tennis-courts  are  in  almost  constant  use  at  the  Club 
as  well  as  at  the  Residency,  which  has  several  beautiful  courts 
that  are  open  to  the  use  of  the  guests  of  the  Resident,  and 
the  numerous  private  courts  are  all  equally  busy,  but  the 
interest  in  this  sport  centers  chiefly  around  the  tournament 
season  when  prizes  are  awarded;  and  some  fine  records  have 
been  made. 

GOLF 

Golf  in  India  is  played  pretty  nearly  everywhere.  There 
are  few  communities,  even  the  smaller  ones,  where  there  is 
not  some  provision  made  for  this  sport,  although  as  a  rule  it 
is  not  as  good  as  that  in  Srinagar  or  Gulmarg.  And  possibly 
there  is  no  one  sport  that  fills  so  large  a  place  among  the 
active  and  vigorous  members  of  the  community  as  golf.  For 
instance,  in  Gulmarg  there  are  two  eighteen-hole  courses,  each 
of  which  would  compare  well  with  the  best  courses  in  any  part 
of  the  world,   and  both  of  these  are  crowded  to  their  full 

[141] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

capacity  ofttimes  even  in  bad  weather,  throughout  the  months 
of  July  and  August. 

So  general  and  so  intense  is  this  devotion  to  golf  that 
people  who  are  somewhat  indifferent  about  it  almost  dread  to 
go  to  Gulmarg,  where  golf  is  not  only  the  principal  subject  of 
conversation,  but  results,  as  a  certain  officer  said,  in  the  air 
being  so  full  of  golf  balls  that  it  is  almost  dangerous  to  go 
about  unless  you  are  a  player  yourself.  This  is  literally  true, 
for  one  who  is  riding  or  walking  in  the  vicinity  of  these  links 
has  to  exercise  the  greatest  care,  in  spite  of  which  some  rather 
disagreeable  accidents  occur  from  time  to  time. 


POLO 

While  all  this  is  true  with  regard  to  golf  it  is  doubtful  if  it 
arouses  as  much  interest  as  the  polo  games,  at  which  the 
crowds,  not  only  of  Europeans,  but  of  natives,  are  enormous  and 
extremely  enthusiastic.  This  is  in  part  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  heir  to  the  throne,  Hari  Singh,  is  devoted  to  this  sport  and 
is  the  captain  of  the  native  team,  all  of  whom  are  considered 
"crack"  players.  So  the  enthusiasm  and  interest  on  the  part 
of  the  Kashmiri  is  if  anything  greater  than  that  of  the  English 
residents,  who  are  inclined  to  take  things  as  a  matter  of  course 
and  not  to  be  very  demonstrative. 

These  polo  players  are  mostly  British  officers  and  come 
from  various  parts  of  India,  bringing  their  strings  of  ponies 
with  them,  and  many  of  these  would  compare  well  with  the 
very  best  ponies  to  be  found  in  any  part  of  the  world.  The 
result  of  all  this  is  that  there  are  sometimes  very  brilliant 
games  that  would  be  of  interest  anywhere  and  a  credit  in  any 
country.  The  provision  made  for  these  polo  matches,  too,  is 
an  excellent  one,  for  about  half  a  mile  back  from  the  river  there 
is  a  large  common  about  a  mile  in  length  and  nearly  a  half 
mile  in  width  that  is  devoted  to  polo,  cricket  and  other  sports, 
and  as  there  are  roads  and  trees  surrounding  this,  it  is  easily 
accessible  from  all  sides. 

[  142] 


YOUNG  KASHMIR  AT  PLAY 

Children's  games  seem  to  be  universal  in  their  nature.  For  example,  here  in  far-off 
Kashmir  the  children  are  playing  the  well-known  game  of  hop-scotch.  The  mud-daubed, 
thatched  house,  from  which  peers  the  patriarch  of  the  family,  is  typical  of  the  average 

dwelling  house  of  Kashmir. 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

CRICKET 

The  mere  fact  that  the  Maharaja  is  a  cricketer  gives  a 
zest  to  this  sport  that  it  otherwise  would  not  possess,  at  least 
among  the  natives.  It  is,  however,  a  very  popular  one  among 
the  officers  and  residents,  and  some  of  the  teams  make  a 
most  creditable  showing.  Naturally  the  largest  attendance  is 
drawn  together  when  it  is  known  the  Maharaja  himself  is 
going  to  take  part.  This  attendance  is  composed  largely  of 
ladies,  and  it  would  be  hard  to  conceive  a  more  charming 
picture  than  these  attractive  English  women  present  in  their 
dainty  afternoon  costumes. 

BADMINTON 

Badminton  has  the  distinction  of  being  a  sport  in  which 
all  ages  take  part,  and  I  have  seen  ladies  and  gentlemen  who 
were  well  toward  eighty  playing  this  game  with  great  interest 
and  gusto.  As  it  may  not  be  as  familiar  to  American  readers 
as  the  other  sports,  possibly  a  line  or  two  with  regard  to  it 
may  be  of  interest.  In  a  word,  something  like  a  small  tennis 
racket  or  battledore  is  used  as  a  bat  or  racket,  and  something 
resembling  the  shuttlecock  takes  the  place  of  a  ball.  A  tennis 
net  is  stretched  at  an  elevation  of  seven  or  eight  feet,  and  the 
game  consists  of  batting  this  shuttlecock  from  side  to  side, 
with  three  people  on  each  side  instead  of  two  as  in  the  case  of 
tennis. 

The  reason  why  even  elderly  people  like  this  game  is  that 
it  can  be  played  very  quietly  if  all  of  the  participants  are  of 
about  the  same  age,  whereas  when  the  contestants  are  younger 
it  becomes  quite  as  exciting  and  vigorous  as  a  well-fought  game 
of  tennis.  It  happens,  too,  to  be  the  one  game  that  is  of  a 
distinctly  social  character,  and  during  the  season  hardly  a  day- 
passes  that  somebody  doesn't  give  a  badminton  party,  which 
takes  the  place  of  an  afternoon  tea,  the  badminton  being 
provided  for  those  who  care  to  play  (and  most  of  the  guests 
do  if  only  for  a  few  moments  at  a  time),  while  the  refreshment 

[145] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

provision  at  tables  and  in  the  shade  is  continuous  and  the 
opportunity  for  a  diverting  interchange  of  gossip  never  ceases. 

CROQUET 

Croquet  has  perhaps  more  devotees  in  the  Valley  that  it 
would  have  at  any  of  the  average  summer  resorts  in  other 
parts  of  the  world,  but  for  the  most  part  it  is  restricted  to 
those  who  do  not  care  for  a  very  active  form  of  sport,  or  who, 
for  some  reason,  are  unable  to  indulge  in  anything  of  that  sort. 
The  game,  however,  is  played  on  courts  that  are  so  well 
constructed  and  laid  out  that  it  is  something  like  a  game  of 
billiards  as  an  evidence  of  skill.  It  is  therefore  this  element 
of  interest  that  gives  it  an  exceptional  place  in  the  esteem  of 
a  certain  portion  of  the  community. 

SAILING 

By  sailing  I  do  not  mean  sailing  in  a  sailboat,  but  being 
rowed  in  a  row-boat  or  going  about  in  a  motorboat,  as  there 
are  a  number  of  these  on  the  river;  and  of  all  the  pleasures 
that  the  Valley  affords  there  is  none  perhaps  more  delightful 
than  this,  because  in  this  way  you  not  only  call  on  your  friends 
who  live  in  the  houseboats  that  line  the  banks  of  the  river 
for  many  miles,  but  you  can  also  do  your  shopping.  As  will 
be  seen  later  on,  this  is  the  most  agreeable  way  of  seeing  the 
banks  of  the  river  and  the  life  along  those  banks.  It  is,  however, 
entirely  apart  from  these  features,  delightful  in  itself,  for 
nothing  could  be  more  beautiful  than  a  row  on  the  river  under 
the  awnings  that  are  provided  with  all  the  rowboats,  at  the 
hour  when  the  sun  is  beginning  to  fall  behind  the  mountain 
wall  in  the  distance.  This  is  due  partly  to  the  fact  that  the 
twilight  and  sunset  effects  seem  to  linger  longer  here  than 
almost  anywhere  else.  When  the  sun  goes  behind  this  moun- 
tain wall,  its  light  continues  for  a  very  long  time  reflected 
from  the  sky,  and  at  this  hour,  too,  the  temperature  is  most 
agreeable.  Consequently  one  is  pretty  sure  to  find  a  large 
number  of  one's  friends  on  the  river  at  this  time  of  day. 

[146] 


THE    V  ALE     OF     KASHMIR 

RIDING 

Riding  is  as  general  here  as  it  is  in  the  home  country,  for, 
as  will  be  understood,  nearly  all  of  the  officers  and  their  wives 
have  their  own  saddle-horses  that  they  bring  with  them,  and 
the  resident  community  is  equally  well  equipped,  so  that  the 
temporary  visitors  who  come  without  horses  have  merely  to 
turn  to  the  Maharaja's  stables  and  he,  hospitable  man,  has 
a  large  stud,  some  of  which  are  very  good  mounts  and  all  of 
which  are  rented  by  the  month  for  a  relatively  nominal  charge. 
It  will  be  seen  from  statements  elsewhere  that  it  is  not  an 
extravagant  indulgence,  nor  is  there  any  sport  that  offers 
more  varied  features  of  interest  than  this,  because  of  the  fine 
roads,  delightful  paths  and  gloriously  beautiful  country. 

THE  REGATTAS 

In  conclusion  one  should  not  forget  the  regattas  that  are 
held  each  year  by  the  members  of  Mr.  Tyndale-Biscoe's  school. 
While  these  are  spoken  of  in  the  chapter  devoted  to  the  school 
itself,  they  constitute  so  important  a  place  in  the  interests  of 
the  community  that  they  should  be  mentioned  here  as  well. 
Their  success  naturally  is  due  to  the  competent  training  of 
the  head  of  the  school,  who  has  introduced  as  far  as  possible 
English  ways  and  English  ideals,  and  the  feats  of  running, 
swimming  and  diving  are  surprising  to  even  experienced 
athletes. 


147 


XVII 
THE  VALLEY  AND  MOUNTAINS 

"And  Day,  with  his  banner  of  radiance  unfurled, 
Shines  in  through  the  mountainous  portal  that  opes, 
Sublime,  from  that  Valley  of  bliss  to  the  world" 

— Lalla  Rookh. 

SOMETHING  has  already  been  said  about  both  the 
Valley  and  mountains,  but  it  would  be  quite  impossible 
to  do  full  justice  to  either,  so  rich  is  this  wonderful 
Valley  in  features  of  beauty  and  interest,  and  so  impressive 
and  varied  is  the  mountain  wall  that  surrounds  it.  There  are 
several  points  of  view  from  which  one  can  gain  distinct  im- 
pressions of  different  parts  of  the  Valley,  and  possibly  none 
offers  so  great  a  treat  as  that  from  the  Takht-i-Suleiman, 
which,  as  stated  elsewhere,  rises  almost  from  the  center  of  the 
city  in  the  form  of  a  splendid  pyramid  to  a  height  of  a  thousand 
feet  above  the  river.  From  the  top  of  this  the  whole  Valley 
stretches  out  before  you,  the  view  of  the  Dhal  Lake  being 
especially  fine.  The  flashing  windings  of  the  river,  seen  through 
the  trees,  are  visible  for  many  miles  in  each  direction,  while 
off  in  the  distance  toward  Baramulla  lies  the  Wular  Lake. 

This,  too,  is  one  of  the  most  delightful  points  from  which 
to  view  the  blossoms,  and  probably  no  richer  feast  of  glorious 
color  has  ever  been  provided  on  the  face  of  this  earth  than  is 
presented  by  the  Valley  when  all  the  different  fruit  trees  are 
in  bloom.  Many  even  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  they  think  the 
cherry  blossoms  of  Srinagar  are  more  beautiful,  because  of 
their  massing  of  effects,  than  those  of  Japan.  With  this, 
however,  I  cannot  agree,  though  they  are  wonderfully  beauti- 
ful, and  this  display  of  glorious  color  begins  with  the  first 
blossom  and  does  not  end  until  all  have  finished  their  bloom, 
which  covers  a  very  long  period  of  time. 

Then,  too,  the  hills  themselves  undergo  a  process  of  trans- 
formation, for  what  during  the  winter  has  become  brown  and 
arid  as  the  spring-time  advances  begins  to  glow  with  vivid 

[148] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

tones.  This  is  so  striking  that  it  is  almost  difficult  to  realize 
that  it  is  the  same  hill  now  that  was  so  bleak  and  barren  a 
short  time  ago. 

From  this  point  also  one  gets  a  very  excellent  view  of  the 
various  royal  gardens  that  surround  the  extensive  shores  of 
the  Dhal  Lake,  while  just  across  the  city  rises  the  hill  upon 
which  the  fort  is  built.  This  also  offers  a  fine  panorama,  and, 
while  it  is  not  so  extensive  as  that  from  the  Takht,  it  gives 
more  of  the  details  in  the  nearby  effects. 

Still  another  superb  point  of  view  is  the  plateau  of  Martund, 
to  which  allusion  will  be  made  later  on.  And  still  another,  and 
perhaps  the  most  striking  of  all,  is  from  what  is  called  the 
"Outer  Road"  that  circles  the  precipice  surrounding  Gulmarg, 
from  which  almost  the  entire  Valley  can  be  seen  as  well  as 
some  of  the  higher  mountain  peaks,  which  appear  here  to 
better  advantage  than  almost  anywhere  else  in  the  Valley. 

But  while  we  have  been  speaking  of  the  Valley  of  Kashmir 
as  though  it  were  one,  it  is  as  a  matter  of  fact  many.  This 
one  large  valley,  with  its  two  huge  lakes  and  rivers,  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  whole  family  of  valleys,  each  of  which  offers  to 
the  lover  of  nature  a  wonderful  treat  in  the  way  of  striking 
and  picturesque  landscape  effects.  So  numerous  are  these 
valleys  that,  so  to  speak,  empty  into  or  open  out  from  the 
main  valley,  that  volumes  could  be  written  about  them. 
Each  of  them  has  as  its  advocates  and  to  them  the  visitors  go 
during  the  hot  months  of  July  and  August  according  to  their 
tastes  and  inclinations.  They  are  all  for  the  most  part  from 
one  to  three  thousand  feet  higher  than  the  Valley  of  Kashmir 
itself,  and  by  this  I  mean  the  valley  and  the  level  where 
Srinagar  is  built. 


[151] 


XVIII 
PLACES  OF  WORSHIP 

"When  the  shrines  through  the  foliage  are  gleaming 
half  shown, 
And  each  hallows  the  hour  by  some  rites  of  its  own" 

— Lalla  Rookh. 

OF  these  there  are  many  in  the  Valley  of  Kashmir,  and 
especially  in  the  city  of  Srinagar — Hindu  temples  and 
Mohammedan  mosques  and  Christian  churches.  The 
Hindu  temples  are  for  the  most  part  the  splendid  ruins  that 
are  to  be  seen  in  different  parts  of  the  Valley,  and  to  which  a 
chapter  is  devoted  elsewhere.  There  are,  however,  a  few  of 
these  that  are  still  in  use.  There  is  an  interesting  shrine  near, 
or  practically  a  part  of  the  Maharaja's  palace,  where  there  are 
some  handsomely  illuminated  missals  and  Hindu  sacred  books. 

Of  the  mosques  there  are  naturally  many  more,  as  three- 
fourths  of  the  population  is  Mohammedan,  although  as  else- 
where stated  the  Maharaja  is  himself  a  Hindu.  Among  these 
the  Shah  Hamadan  Mosque,  which  stands  on  the  right  bank, 
is  probably  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  a  building  of  this 
sort.  This  is  entirely  of  wood,  the  slabs  of  the  sides  being  laid 
in  such  a  way  that  they  resemble  brick.  The  carving  in  the 
windows  is  of  a  very  pleasing  character,  and  the  roof,  which  is 
lofty,  is  surmounted  by  an  open  spire  with  a  gilded  ball — a 
very  characteristic  treatment  in  this  part  of  the  world.  The 
best  view  to  be  had  of  this  mosque  is  from  the  opposite  bank, 
where  it  is  seen  with  the  hill  of  the  fort  rising  in  the  background. 

One  of  the  most  popular  Mohammedan  shrines  lies  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill  of  the  fort  and  is  called  Makhdum  Shahs  Ziarat. 
It  is  to  this  shrine  that  large  numbers  of  people  rush  in  case  of 
sickness,  as  there  is  a  popular  superstition  that  a  visit  will 
result  in  a  cure. 

Of  the  churches  there  are  two  that  are  doing  a  very  useful 
work  in  addition  to  that  which  is  being  done  among  the  natives 
at  the  Church  Mission  School  and  the  Mission  Hospital.    One 

[152] 


The  English  Church,  with   its  vine-covered    Rectory,   which    seems    to    typify  by  its 

peaceful  surroundings  religious  freedom,   in   marked  contrast   to  the   temple-crowned 

Takht  symbolizing  autocratic  power. 


Both  the  Hindus  and  the  followers  of  Mohammed  are  continuously  making  pilgrimages 
to  some  sacred  shrine  or  other.     This  is  a  portion  of  the  procession  on  its  way  to  the 

sacred  Cave  of  Amarnath. 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

of  them  is  the  little  Roman  Catholic  Chapel  and  the  other  the 
beautifully  situated  and  very  attractive  English  Church.  This, 
with  its  picturesque  Rectory,  in  the  midst  of  a  wealth  of 
flowers,  trees  and  shrubs,  is  easily  one  of  the  most  charming 
features  in  the  city  and  very  fittingly  fills  an  important  place 
in  the  religious  and  social  life  of  the  English-speaking  popula- 
tion. The  services  are  well  attended,  and  the  congregation 
was  very  fortunate  in  having,  at  the  time  of  our  visit,  an 
unusually  good  preacher,  as  well  as  an  efficient  pastor,  in 
Mr.  Fellows.  While  he  did  everything  in  his  power  to  make 
the  services  interesting,  attractive  and  helpful  and  was  very 
faithful  in  caring  for  the  needs  of  the  resident  community  and 
in  visiting  all  who  were  good  enough  to  give  him  their  addresses, 
he  was  ably  assisted  by  his  wife,  who  made  the  Rectory  a  sort 
of  parochial  social  center,  giving  frequent  afternoon  teas  and 
badminton  parties  and  receptions,  to  which  all  who  were 
interested  were  invited  to  come  and  were  made  acquainted 
with  one  another. 

While  this  chapel,  or  church,  is  devoted  chiefly  to  the 
resident  English  and  the  visitors,  a  great  deal  is  done  directly 
and  indirectly  in  behalf  of  the  natives.  Although  no  services 
are  held  there  in  the  native  language,  yet  the  influence  of  this 
church  is  felt  in  various  parts  of  the  city  because  of  the  way 
in  which  those  associated  with  the  church  come  in  contact 
with  the  native  community.  For  instance,  the  treasurer,  or 
rather  the  secretary,  of  the  church  was  also  the  owner  of  the 
carpet  factory  and  had  in  his  employ  several  hundred  men, 
and  his  daily  intimate  dealings  with  his  employees  and  their 
families  brought  the  influence  of  the  church  directly  into  the 
life  of  his  workers,  at  least  in  so  far  as  the  practical  application 
of  the  principles  of  Christianity  to  daily  life  are  concerned. 
It  is  very  comforting  to  see  what  a  tone  this  indirect  influence 
has  given  to  all  who  were  brought  under  it. 


155 


XIX 
ANCIENT  TEMPLES 

"The  mighty  ruins  where  they  stood, 
Upon  the  mount's  high,  rocky  verge" 
— Lalla  Rookh. 

THIS   subject    is   so    unfamiliar   the   writer   does    not 
hesitate  to  say  that  before  his  own  visit  to  the  Valley 
he  had  no  idea  that  there  were  any  ruins  of  exceptional 
interest  in  that  remote  and  beautiful  part  of  the  world. 

Nor  has  he  happened  to  meet  any  archaeologist  who  had, 
although  he  has  met  many  in  his  search  for  information.  Even 
in  Kashmir  itself  the  few  who  were  interested  knew  compara- 
tively little  about  the  ruins  they  had  seen  and  admired.  There 
were,  however,  a  few  books  in  the  Club  library  in  Srinagar 
that  told  something  about  them,  but  personal  friends  who 
had  photographed  or  sketched  them  knew  little  more  than 
the  pictures  showed. 

But  if  there  was  a  poverty  of  information  in  these  sources, 
it  was  more  than  made  up  by  the  extravagant  exuberance  of 
the  native  imagination,  which  provides  a  host  of  fabulous 
tales.  Some  of  these  have  been  translated  and  published  in 
English,  and  one  small  book  shown  the  writer  at  Martund 
claimed   that   these   particular  ruins  were   several   thousand 

years  old. 

This  paucity  of  information  is  unfortunate,  as  any  one  can 
see  from  the  photographs  that  the  ruins  are  of  great  interest, 
and  a  few  words  in  regard  to  some  of  the  more  important 
may  help  to  show  that  they  are  worthy  of  far  more  thorough 
investigation  than  they  have  yet  received. 

Perhaps  sometime  an  expert  may  be  sent  to  study  them 
so  that  more  light  may  be  thrown  upon  them,  but  until  some- 
thing of  this  sort  is  done  we  must  be  content  with  what  we 
have,  and  what  the  pictures  show  us. 

That  they  are  worthy  of  this  interest  the  writer  is  fully 
convinced,  because  they  easily  hold  their  own  when  compared 

[156] 


The  smaller  temple  at  Avantipur,  not  far  from  the  river's  brink,  where  the  excavations 
have  already  brought  to  light  beautiful  skeletons  of  stone  buildings. 


The  ruined  temple  of  Bhaniyar  as  seen  in  its  glorious  emerald  setting.    This  is  the  first 
temple  to  greet  you  and  the  last  to  say  good-bye. 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

to  the  great  and  well-known  monuments  and  ruins  of  Europe, 
Asia,  and  Africa,  most  of  which  he  has  visited  many  times  at 
leisure. 

There  are  certain  things  and  places  like  the  ruins  of  Rome, 
Greece,  and  Egypt,  the  Taj  Mahal,  the  view  of  the  Himalayan 
giants  from  Darjeeling,  the  Yosemite,  the  Grand  Canyon, 
Niagara  Falls,  and  others  that  stand  out  prominently  in  one's 
memory,  and  in  reviewing  them  the  visit  to  Martund,  at 
sunrise  takes  a  prominent  place.  But  the  mental  pictures  one 
forms  of  them,  from  the  description  in  the  guide-books  and 
elsewhere,  are  far  from  definite,  nor  do  they  give  the  faintest 
promise  of  the  delightful  and  interesting  memories  they  leave 
behind. 

So  little  were  we  prepared  for  what  was  in  store  for  us,  that 
when  we  passed  Bhaniyar,  on  our  way  into  Srinagar,  we 
hardly  more  than  glanced  at  the  ruins,  and  yet  they  offer 
features  of  exceptional  interest,  but  we  made  ample  amends 
for  this  omission  some  months  later,  when  we  were  coming 
out  of  the  Valley.  This  it  was  easy  to  do  as  the  temples  lie 
quite  near  the  road,  and  are  less  than  two  miles  from  the 
village  of  Naushera. 

Here  we  have  one  of  the  earliest  examples  of  a  temple 
that  retains  its  original  enclosure.  This  is  in  the  form  of  a 
cloistered  quadrangle  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  square, 
with  a  shrine  and  cella  of  unusually  large  and  noble  propor- 
tions, being  thirteen  and  a  half  feet  square  in  the  interior 
with  walls  that  are  nearly  seven  feet  thick. 

Unfortunately  the  more  delicate  carvings  and  ornamenta- 
tions have  been  nearly  obliterated  by  time,  but  the  walls, 
which  are  pierced  by  a  series  of  pedimented  and  trefoil  arches, 
are  in  a  wonderful  state  of  preservation,  and  the  impression 
made  by  the  use  of  the  trefoil,  here  and  elsewhere  in  Kashmir, 
upon  one  accustomed  to  its  use  and  significance  in  Christian 
decoration,  is  peculiar  and  indescribable  as  it  is  so  startlingly 
suggestive  of  the  deep  underlying  unities  that  seem  to  pervade 
all  religious  thought  and  symbolism. 

[159] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

But  if  the  temples  of  Bhaniyar  did  not  hold  our  attention 
long  when  we  were  on  our  way  in,  the  Takht-i-Suleiman  did, 
and  that  too  from  the  moment  we  caught  sight  of  it  in  the 
Valley,  nor  did  this  prominent  feature  in  the  landscape  ever 
fail  to  delight  us  although  we  lived  under  its  shadow  for  many 
months.  This  striking  mountain — it  is  about  six  thousand 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea — rises 
like  a  splendid  pyramid  from  the  city  of  Srinagar  to  the 
height  of  over  a  thousand  feet,  and  is  crowned  by  one  of  the 
most  picturesque  and  impressive  temples  in  the  entire  Valley. 
The  moment  we  saw  it,  in  spite  of  our  fatigue  due  to  our 
two  hundred  miles  ride,  we  were  refreshed  at  once,  nor  did 
the  prospect  ever  fail  to  produce  a  sensation  of  delight. 

This  temple  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  Kashmir  and,  although 
it  has  been  rebuilt,  perhaps  more  than  once,  it  is,  as  the 
picture  indicates,  a  very  remarkable  structure,  on  account  of 
the  stone  work. 

There  is  a  good  path  from  the  hospital  in  the  city  all  the 
way  to  the  top,  and  it  is  a  favorite  walk,  not  only  on  account 
of  the  temple,  but  because  of  the  superb  view  it  commands 
of  the  Dhal  Lake  and  the  entire  Valley. 

Of  the  temple  itself  much  might  be  said,  but  let  it  suffice 
to  say  that  it  is  constructed  in  horizontal  courses  without 
cement,  and  that  it  has  a  small  dark  circular  inner  shrine. 

About  three  miles  north  of  the  Takht,  and  in  the  centre  of 
what  was  once  the  old  city  of  Srinagar,  though  very  few 
traces  of  it  now  remain,  is  the  extremely  interesting  temple 
of  Pandrathan.  It  stands  in  the  midst  of  what  was  once  a 
small  pond — now  dry — and  is  about  eighteen  feet  square  with 
a  projecting  portico  on  either  side.  It  is  richly  decorated,  and 
the  domed  roof  is  worthy  of  careful  study,  for  the  sculpture 
is  so  purely  classical  in  design  as  to  suggest  a  Greek  or  Roman 
origin,  although  it  is  said  to  have  been  erected  between  913 
and  921  A.  D.  by  Meru,  Prime  Minister  to  King  Partha. 

Still  further  up  the  river,  and  not  far  from  the  bank,  lie 
the  extensive  temples  of  Avantipur  which  until  quite  recently 

[160] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

had  been  buried,  but  the  excavations  have  already  brought 
to  light  many  remains  of  great  interest,  for  it  was  here  at  his 
capital  city  that  the  famous  King  Avanti  Varmma  founded 
two  temples  and  dedicated  them  to  Mahadeva  some  time  be- 
tween 858  and  883  A.  D.  At  the  present  time  a  good  idea  of 
their  size,  and  the  quality  of  the  work,  can  be  formed  from 
the  gateways  and  the  colonnades  of  the  smaller  of  the  two, 
and  one  cannot  help  noting  their  resemblance  in  style  to 
those  at  Martund,  but  perhaps  the  greatest  interest  will  be 
felt  in  the  elaborate  carvings  that  enrich  the  semi-detached 
pillars  of  the  arched  recesses,  which  are  of  a  very  variegated 
and  pleasing  character. 

But  of  all  the  temple  ruins  seen  in  Kashmir  those  at 
Martund  are  easily  the  most  impressive,  not  only  on  account 
of  their  extent,  but  because  of  the  great  beauty  of  their 
wonderful  situation. 

The  sail  up  the  Jhelum  to  Islamabad,  and  the  ride  from 
there  up  to  the  lofty  plateau,  that  commands  vast  stretches 
of  the  Valley  with  its  silvery,  serpentine  river,  is  an  experience 
that  can  never  be  forgotten,  especially  if  it  is  made  in  time 
to  see  the  sun  rise  and  stream  through  the  eastern  portal  to 
bathe  the  rich  interior  with  golden  splendor. 

As  the  smiling  native  custodian  greets  you,  he  hands  you 
a  copy  of  the  native  history  and  description  of  the  ruins.  In 
this  the  claim  is  made  that  the  first  structure  was  erected 
some  four  thousand  years  ago  while  the  English  and  other 
archaeologists  place  it  between  360  and  383  A.  D.,  but,  how- 
ever this  may  be,  these  are  easily  the  most  imposing,  as  well 
as  the  most  beautiful,  of  all  the  ruins  in  Kashmir,  and  this 
is  the  only  temple  that  has  a  choir  and  nave  in  addition  to 
the  cella  or  sanctuary.  This  nave  is  about  eighteen  feet  square, 
and  the  entire  length  of  the  structure  is  sixty-three  feet.  For 
the  most  part  it  is  quite  plain,  but  the  two  adjoining  compart- 
ments have  richly  decorated  panels  and  elaborately  sculptured 
niches.    It  is  difficult  to  determine  the  exact  height,  as  the 

[163] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

roof  has  been  removed  and  lies  in  masses  on  the  ground,  but 
it  is  believed  to  have  been  about  seventy-five  feet. 

A  wide  flight  of  steps  approaches  the  western  entrance, 
which  is  surmounted  by  a  superb  trefoiled  arch,  with  chapels 
on  either  side,  one  of  which  is  connected  with  the  nave.  The 
other  side  has  equally  impressive  arches  with  closed  doorways 
beneath.  The  quadrangle,  which  is  pillared,  is  about  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty  by  one  hundred  and  forty-two  feet  and  is 
decorated  with  the  most  elaborate  carvings  in  Kashmir.  There 
are  eighty-four  fluted  columns  with  beautiful  capitals,  a 
number  considered  sacred  by  the  Hindus,  being  a  multiple  of 
the  signs  of  the  zodiac  and  the  days  of  the  week. 

This  work  is  ascribed  to  the  famous  King  Lalitaditya,  who 
reigned  between  699  and  735  A.  D.  But  probably  that  which 
will  impress  the  average  lover  of  the  beautiful  most  will  be 
the  almost  startling  suggestiveness  of  Greek  influence  at  its 
very  best  period,  though  how  this  influence  came  to  this 
remote  part  of  the  world  at  a  time  when  it  was  almost  inac- 
cessible, no  records  declare,  but  however  it  came  it  is  a  thous- 
and pities  that  these  beautiful  gems  of  architecture  should 
have  been  so  terribly  mutilated  by  fanatical  Moslems,  and 
yet  even  in  their  present  state  so  impressive  is  their  beauty 
that  one  admirer  said,  "that  they  were  easily  the  most  interest- 
ing feature  among  a  host  of  interesting  features  that  the  Vale  of 
Kashmir  affords  to  delight  the  traveler." 

There  are  many  other  ruins  of  interest  in  the  Valley  of 
Kashmir,  but  the  foregoing  will  amply  serve  the  writer's 
purpose  in  calling  attention  to  them. 


Note.     This  Chapter  is  a  reprint  of  an  article  by  Dr.  Denys  on  the  Ancient  Temples  of  Kashmir,  which 
appeared  in  Vol.  i,  No.  2,  of  "Art  and  Archaeology,"  and  is  used  by  their  permission. 


[164] 


The  Temple  of  Martund,  showing  the  trefoil  arch,  the  carving,  and  a  portion  of  the 
cloister  that  surrounds  the  quadrangle. 


The  Temple  of  Pandrathan,  seen  at  a  time  when  the  tank  surrounding  it  was  dry, 
although  the  small  boat  used  to  visit  the  interior  can  be  seen  at  the  left. 


XX 

HOSPITALS 

"Who  could  have  thought,  that  there,  e'en  there, 
Amid  those  scenes  so  still  and  fair, 
The  Demon  of  the  Plague  hath  cast 
From  his  hot  wing  a  deadlier  blast" 

— Lalla  Rookh. 

OF  these  there  are  several,  and  while  the  State  Hospital 
is  a  large  and  well-equipped  building  with  a  competent 
corps  of  physicians  and  nurses,  I  shall  confine  what 
I  have  to  say  chiefly  to  three:  the  Cottage,  or  Visitors'  Hos- 
pital; the  Mission  Hospital;  and  the  Leper  Hospital. 

The  first  of  these  is,  as  its  name  implies,  a  large  cottage 
beautifully  embowered  in  shade  and  flowers  and  of  easy  access 
to  the  resident  portion  of  the  city,  in  so  far  as  it  concerns 
Europeans  and  visitors,  for  whom  this  cottage  is  especially 
intended,  as  the  hotels,  cottages  and  houseboats  are  not  very 
satisfactory  places  to  care  for  an  invalid  who  is  seriously  ill. 
Here  there  is  a  resident  physician,  and  any  of  the  physicians 
in  the  Valley  are  at  liberty  to  bring  patients  and  to  care  for 
them.  No  one  can  realize  how  great  a  boon  a  provision  of 
this  kind  is  until  he  has  had  personal  experience,  and  then  it 
cannot  be  too  highly  praised,  for  here  not  only  does  the 
patient  have  expert  medical  treatment,  but  the  most  careful 
trained  nursing.  Every  provision  is  made  for  the  treatment 
of  disease  and  the  comfort  of  the  patients  that  the  limited 
area  of  the  structure  will  permit,  and  it  is  highly  probable 
that  a  great  many  lives  have  been  saved  simply  because  it 
has  been  possible  to  take  them  to  a  place  of  this  sort  where 
they  could  receive  just  the  care  required. 

This  work  is  supported  by  subscriptions  given  by  the 
visitors  themselves,  fees  paid  by  the  patients,  collections  that 
are  occasionally  taken  up  in  the  churches,  and  the  entertain- 
ments that  are  given  in  its  behalf.  The  subscribers  are  en- 
titled to  care  and  attendance  at  reduced  rates,  which  is  some- 

[167] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

times  a  very  great  boon  to  people  whose  incomes  are  limited 
and  who  are  unfortunate  enough  to  have  serious  illness  away 
from  home. 

The  interest  taken  in  this  work  is  very  great  on  the  part 
of  all  and  by  no  one  more  than  the  Resident  and  his  family — 
at  least  that  was  the  case  when  we  were  there  at  the  time  the 
Hon.  Stuart-Fraser  was  Resident.  So  great  was  this  interest 
that  he  gave  the  Residency  Garden  on  one  occasion  for  a 
tableau  concert  in  behalf  of  this  hospital,  at  which  very 
beautiful  and  very  creditable  renderings  were  given. 

The  Mission  Hospital  fills  also  a  very  large  and  important 
place  among  the  natives,  not  only  of  Srinagar  but  the  whole 
Valley  of  Kashmir,  and  it  would  be  hard  to  find  anywhere  in 
the  world  two  more  devoted  men  than  the  Neve  brothers,  the 
elder  of  whom,  Arthur,  has  been  connected  with  this  work 
for  many  years.  In  order  that  my  readers  may  have  some 
idea  of  the  conditions  these  hospital  workers  have  to  contend 
with,  I  wish  to  quote  the  following: 

"Any  real  sanitation  requires  the  intelligent  co-operation  of 
the  people,  who  as  a  whole  seem  as  opposed  to  sanitary  reform 
as  to  religious  changes;  they  seem  as  wedded  to  their  primitive 
dirty  habits  as  to  their  superstitions.  The  condition  of  all 
the  narrow  back-streets  in  Srinagar  is  unspeakably  filthy, 
and  even  the  wealthy  make  no  attempts  to  keep  their  own 
courtyards  clean.  In  a  town  like  Islamabad  people  bathe, 
wash  clothes  and  drink  water  at  the  same  small  tank,  though 
it  would  be  perfectly  easy  to  reserve  the  spring  for  drinking 
and  to  make  washing  places  a  few  yards  further  down." 

Naturally  conditions  of  this  kind  result  in  an  exceptional 
amount  of  disease,  and  to  the  care  of  this  the  workers  in  the 
Mission  Hospital  continually  devote  themselves. 

The  buildings  are  very  delightfully  situated  on  the  crest  of 
a  small  hill  at  the  edge  of  the  city,  and  just  at  the  foot  of  the 
Takht  there  is  a  group  of  buildings  as  well  adapted  to  the 
needs  of  the  situation  as  the  means  at  the  disposal  of  the 
mission  authorities  would  permit,  and  a  visit  to  this  hospital 

[168] 


Dr.  Arthur  Neve  and  his  assistants  caring  for  the  sick  in  a  remote  country  village.    The 
traveling  dispensary  is  seen  at  the  right. 


Convalescents  in  an  out-ward  of  the  Mission  Hospital.    This  Hospital  is  a  marvel  of 
equipment,  efficiency,  cleanliness  and  good  cheer. 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

on  the  part  of  one  who  has  seen  some  of  the  best  hospitals  in 
the  world — that  is  as  far  as  their  equipment  is  concerned — is 
a  revelation  and  a  surprise,  for  while  everything  is  simple 
there  seems  to  be  a  provision  for  almost  everything  that  is 
required  in  a  hospital  that  is  considered  up  to  date  in  European 
countries  or  in  America  at  the  present  time.  The  electrical 
apparatus,  while  not  extensive,  is  adequate  in  so  far  as  it  goes 
and  fills  a  very  important  place,  although  possibly  that  which 
is  more  astonishing  to  the  average  visitor  is  the  X-ray  appara- 
tus, which  had  very  kindly  been  given  to  the  hospital  by 
friends  and  had  been  successfully  installed  a  short  time  before 
our  visit.  So  necessary  was  this  particular  apparatus  that  it 
was  in  almost  daily  use  and  a  number  of  obscure  diseases  had 
been  made  clear,  and  fractures  and  heart  difficulties  diagnosed. 
All  the  wards  were  well  fitted  up  and  very  clean  and  carefully 
served  by  well-trained  native  attendants.  Then  there  is  an 
out-of-door  provision  of  several  balconies  with  long  rows  of 
cots,  and  there  are  also  wards  for  private  cases  where  one  can 
be  entirely  by  himself  and  see  friends  when  the  condition 
warrants  it. 

Services  are  held  every  day  and  are  attended  by  as  many 
of  the  patients  as  are  able  to  walk,  and  the  doctors  told  me 
that  it  was  very  gratifying  to  find  that  a  better  feeling  toward 
Christianity  was  gradually  becoming  established  and  that  they 
did  attend  these  services  now  very  much  more  freely  than  they 
had  in  the  past  and  that  the  feeling  on  the  part  of  their  families 
and  friends  was  far  more  sympathetic.  All  of  which  was 
attributed  in  a  large  measure  to  the  great  benefit  that  the 
hospital  had  conferred  upon  the  diseased  and  afflicted  members 
of  the  Kashmir  community. 

Possibly  it  may  be  of  interest  to  my  readers  to  know  how 
a  visit  to  this  hospital  impressed  the  Viceroy,  who  made  the 
following  remarks  in  the  Visitors'  Book: 

"It  has  given  me  the  greatest  possible  pleasure  to  visit 
this  Hospital.  Its  organization  and  management  are  thoroughly 

[171] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

up  to  date,  and  the  amount  of  work  that  is  done  is  immense; 
but  the  feature  that  has  struck  me  most  is  the  spirit  of  life 
and  energy  that  marks  its  whole  tone.  I  congratulate  Dr.  Neve 
on  his  work  and  the  State  of  Kashmir  upon  its  possession  of 
so  beneficent  an  institution." 

Hardinge  of  Penshurst. 

Also  in  another  communication: 

"I  feel  I  have  a  very  lasting  and  most  pleasing  recollection 
of  my  visit  to  the  Mission  Hospital  in  Srinagar.  I  had  heard 
so  much  of  this  Institution  and  of  the  work  of  the  Doctors  Neve 
that  I  now  wish  to  thank  them  for  their  kindness  in  showing 
me  a  hospital  managed  with  so  much  skill,  care  and  devotion." 

Winifred  Hardinge  of  Penshurst. 

Nor  is  the  work  of  this  hospital  by  any  means  confined  to 
the  buildings  or  the  city,  for  these  brothers  go  away  on  what 
might  be  called  medical  missionary  tours  from  time  to  time, 
and  during  one  of  these  tours  of  three  weeks  they  treated  about 
eight  hundred  patients  in  ten  different  places,  five  of  which 
had  never  been  visited  before.  They  said  that  the  officials 
met  them  and  were  very  friendly  and  helpful.  On  one  occasion 
they  were  very  much  surprised  by  the  fact  that  several  who 
had  previously  been  at  the  hospital,  and  some  of  whom  had 
been  cured,  brought  little  gifts  of  fruits  and  eggs  as  an  evidence 
that  they  had  appreciated  the  kindnesses  they  had  received. 

In  a  community  such  as  is  to  be  found  in  the  Valley  of 
Kashmir,  eye  troubles  are  very  frequent  and  in  the  course  of 
a  single  year  eleven  hundred  and  seventy  operations  were 
performed  for  eye  diseases  alone.  One  hundred  and  thirty-six 
of  these  were  for  cataract,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-two 
of  this  number  who  had  been  previously  quite  blind  were 
restored  to  sight.  This  is  a  remarkable  record  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  while  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  perform  the  opera- 
tion to  cure  the  disease,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  persuade  the 
patients  and   their  families  to  do   their  part  in  caring  for 

[  172] 


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£    7 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

themselves  after  the  treatment.  The  success  of  this  work  is 
further  shown  by  the  fact  that  in  a  total  of  five  thousand 
operations  in  one  year,  both  major  and  minor,  only  one-half 
of  one  per  cent,  were  unsuccessful. 

In  conclusion  a  word  must  be  said  in  behalf  of  the  very 
noble  work  that  is  done  at  what  is  called  the  State  Leper 
Hospital  by  these  doctors  and  Mrs.  Neve.  I  rowed  one  after- 
noon through  the  fascinating  waters  and  lakes  and  bays  and 
dells  that  make  up  the  shore  of  the  Dhal  Lake,  and  after 
entering  an  exceptionally  lovely  little  bay,  climbed  to  the  site 
of  the  Leper  Hospital  buildings.  These  are  numerous  and 
devoted  to  various  purposes.  For  instance,  one  of  them  is  the 
kitchen — a  very  important  building  because  it  requires  the 
greatest  care  to  see  that  the  food  in  its  preparation  is  not  con- 
taminated. For  the  most  part,  however,  these  buildings  are 
little  detached  cottages,  sometimes  having  three  or  four  rooms, 
in  each  of  which  a  leper,  or  a  leper  and  his  wife  and  children 
reside.  Entire  freedom  is  permitted  here  and  the  healthy 
members  of  the  leper's  family  are  associated  with  the  diseased 
without  restraint  and  just  as  they  would  be  in  their  own  home. 
Every  effort,  however,  is  made  on  the  part  of  the  authorities, 
who  have  as  their  chief  Dr.  Arthur  Neve,  to  train  the  people 
to  observe  the  necessary  sanitary  precautions.  There  is  no 
law  in  the  matter  on  the  part  of  the  State,  and  if  patients 
come  they  come  voluntarily.  Lepers  are  permitted,  if  they 
choose  to  do  so,  to  live  in  their  own  homes,  so  that  the  care 
for,  and  treatment  of,  this  disease  is  not  as  systematic,  thor- 
ough and  effective  as  it  would  otherwise  be,  and  the  absence 
of  any  rigid  rules  in  the  hospital  itself  makes  the  care  of  the 
patients  one  of  great  difficulty  and  patience  on  the  part  of 
the  doctors  and  nurses,  and  yet,  in  spite  of  this,  no  small 
measure  of  success  has  been  obtained.  During  one  year,  for 
instance,  one  hundred  and  three  new  lepers  were  admitted  and 
quite  a  percentage  showed  very  marked  improvement.  A 
visit  to  this  hospital  naturally  brings  with  it  many  very  de- 
pressing experiences,  for  some  of  these  patients  are  in  a  repul- 

[175] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

sive  and  almost  loathsome  condition.  And  yet  the  devotion  of 
the  wife  to  the  husband,  when  the  husband  is  in  an  advanced 
stage  of  the  disease  and  the  wife  perfectly  healthy,  is  touching 
and  beautiful.  But  it  is  startling  to  see  a  little  child  playing 
with  a  father  in  such  a  state  as  this.  It  was,  however,  very 
comforting  to  go  from  room  to  room  and  find  them  for  the 
most  part  cheerful,  happy  and  contented.  There  was  little 
suffering  and  no  complaining  at  all.  One  poor  man,  who  was 
without  family,  had  embraced  Christianity  and,  being  bed- 
ridden, was  very  grateful  to  any  who  might  call  on  him  to 
read  to  him,  and  among  the  number  was  a  little  boy,  who 
had  been  taught  by  one  of  the  Christian  teachers  how  to 
read.  This  little  boy  used  to  entertain  the  old  man,  and  the 
old  man  himself,  in  return,  taught  the  little  fellow  the  meaning 
of  Christianity,  and  he  became  so  impressed  with  these  stories 
of  the  life  of  Christ  that  he  wanted  to  be  baptized.  His  parents, 
who  were  lepers  (although  the  little  boy  himself  was  apparently 
perfectly  healthy),  objected,  as  they  were  Hindus  and  he,  they 
felt,  would  become  an  outcast,  although  they  themselves  were 
practically  paupers  and  being  supported  by  the  State  and  the 
generosity  of  charitable  friends.  At  last,  however,  they  were 
so  persuaded  by  the  beautiful  character  of  the  old  man  and 
the  great  devotion  of  the  little  boy  that  they  permitted  him 
to  be  baptized,  and  at  the  same  time  virtually  gave  their  son 
to  this  old  gentleman  in  order  that,  as  he  was  to  be  a  Christian, 
he  might  have  a  Christian  father. 


[176] 


XXI 

SCHOOLS 

"A  prophet  of  the  Truth  whose  mission  draws 
Its  rights  from  heaven" 

— Lalla  Rookh. 

IN  this  chapter  it  is  my  wish  to  speak  of  the  vital  and  in 
many  respects  trying  work  that  is  being  done  by  and 
under  the  inspiration  of  one  of  the  finest  and  most  sensible 
heroes  I  have  ever  met. 

So  modestly  and  so  quietly  has  this  remarkable  work  been 
done  by  Mr.  Tyndale-Biscoe  that  it  was  not  until  I  called  on 
the  wife  of  the  British  Resident  that  I  even  heard  of  either 
the  man  or  his  work. 

Mrs.  Stuart-Fraser  had  been  speaking  of  the  neighbors  in 
the  Valley,  and  the  tone  of  her  voice  as  well  as  the  expression 
of  her  face  when  she  referred  to  Mr.  Tyndale-Biscoe  made  me 
feel  that  he  was  held  in  high  esteem  by  all.  We  were  greatly 
pleased,  therefore,  a  few  days  later  to  receive  an  invitation  to 
lunch  at  the  school  that  is  under  his  care. 

This  we  accepted  with  pleasure,  and  we  were  agreeably 
surprised  to  learn  that  the  varied  and  delicious  food  that  was 
served  in  one  of  the  large  halls,  for  there  were  more  than 
thirty  guests  present,  had  been  prepared  by  people  connected 
with  the  school.  All  around  us  as  we  ate  were  evidences  of  a 
profound  knowledge  of  human  nature,  especially  human 
nature  that  needs  unconscious  objective  training. 

Conspicuous  among  these  was  the  school  motto  and  crest. 
It  is  in  the  form  of  a  shield  with  the  motto,  "In  all  things  be 
men,"  just  inside  the  border,  above  which  is  a  pair  of  crossed 
paddles  with  heart-shaped  blades.  Of  this  the  following  is  said 
in  one  of  the  school  booklets:  "We  mean  by  a  man,  one  who 
is  both  strong  and  kind."  The  crest  also  bears  out  this  idea. 
The  paddle  stands  for  hard  work  or  strength,  the  heart-shaped 
paddle  for  kindness.    The  paddles  are  crossed,  which  stands 

[177] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

for  self-sacrifice,  and  reminds  men  of  Him  who  taught  us  self- 
sacrifice  and  all  that  His  Cross  means  to  the  world." 

This  it  will  be  seen  at  once  tells  its'  own  story,  and  makes 
its  own  impression.  Moreover,  this  symbol  of  sanity,  balance, 
and  uplift  is  a  key  to  the  wonderful  success  and  far-reaching 
usefulness  of  the  work  done  in  the  school. 

Another  evidence  of  thoroughness  is  seen  in  the  charts  of 
the  boys'  character  form  sheets  on  which  minute  and  dis- 
criminating data  are  recorded  in  regard  to  each  boy  in  the 
school. 

This  is  divided  into  three  parts:  mind,  body,  and  soul, 
and  the  latter  is  again  subdivided  into  three  parts,  (i)  con- 
duct toward  masters,  boys,  school,  and  city;  (2)  manners,  de- 
portment, absence  of  tricks,  and  self-control;  (3)  discipline, 
cleanliness  of  body  and  clothes,  attendance,  and  punctuality. 

It  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  mention  more  than  a  few 
of  the  items  in  this  chart,  but  its  far-reaching  value  and  in- 
fluence are  appreciated  in  proportion  to  the  extent  and 
variety  of  one's  experience  in  dealing  with  natives  in  this  part 
of  the  world. 

After  luncheon  we  visited  all  the  rooms  of  the  school  and 
found  that  western  ideals  had  been  introduced  wherever  they 
had  any  place  in  such  a  setting,  but  always  with  due  deference 
to  the  local  atmosphere. 

And  one  is  struck  by  the  contrast  to  what  is  found  in  the 
native  schools  in  other  parts  of  the  East;  for  instance,  in  many 
the  scholars  and  teachers  squat  on  the  floor  and  study  aloud 
as  they  sway  their  bodies  from  side  to  side  for  hours,  accom- 
panied at  times  by  a  disgusting,  sucking  sound  like  that  made 
by  some  men  when  they  drink  hot  soup. 

All  this  was  the  case  here,  and  lying  was  the  rule  when 
Mr.  Tyndale-Biscoe  came,  but  now  one  is  impressed  by  the 
quiet  seriousness  of  the  teachers  and  scholars,  and  the  orderli- 
ness of  the  rooms,  while  lying  is  the  exception  instead  of  the 
rule. 

[178] 


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THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

We  then  went  into  the  large  quadrangle  which  was  en- 
tirely empty,  but  the  moment  the  gong  sounded  all  the 
scholars  of  certain  classes  appeared  from  various  parts  of  the 
buildings  and  came  to  the  ground  in  a  variety  of  ways  as 
quickly  as  the  members  of  a  fire  engine  squad  would  assemble 
for  a  fire. 

We  then  had  athletics  of  all  sorts,  including  some  pretty 
fair  boxing,  and,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  this  boxing  is  one 
of  the  most  practical  and  valuable  assets  of  the  school  and 
community,  for  it  has  enabled  the  teachers  and  scholars  to 
protect  many  an  innocent  victim  from  robbery  and  murderous 
assault. 

While  these  exercises  were  going  on  the  school  band  was 
playing,  and  playing  well.  At  the  close  of  all  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  making  a  short  address  to  the  fifteen  hundred  scholars,  and 
hearing  their  cordial  hurrahs. 

On  another  day  we  had  tea  beside  the  lake  and  saw  some 
fine  rowing,  paddling,  swimming,  and  diving  that  would  have 
done  credit  to  any  western  school.  All  of  this  seems  simple 
and  natural  enough  to  us  in  the  West,  but  before  any  of  it 
could  be  brought  to  pass  some  of  the  most  hardened  fanatical 
religious  and  superstitious  prejudices  had  to  be  overcome,  and 
the  history  of  the  school  is  rich  in  amusing  and  interesting 
incidents  that  have  marked  its  progress. 

On  still  another  day  I  went  to  talk  to  the  teachers,  about 
eighty  in  number,  in  English,  which  they  speak  and  under- 
stand remarkably  well.  They  sat  in  a  semi-circle  in  front  of 
me  under  the  shade  of  one  of  the  beautiful  chenar  trees,  and 
when  I  asked  them  what  they  would  like  me  to  talk  about, 
they  said,  "America  or  New  York,"  as  though  they  were  one 
and  the  same  thing,  for  big  and  important  as  we  may  seem 
in  the  West,  comparatively  little  is  known  about  us  in  that 
remote  Valley. 

Among  other  things  I  spoke  of  the  height  of  the  buildings, 
and  these  elevations  seemed  so  incredible  to  them  that  they 
took  frequent  advantage  of  my  request  to  ask  questions.  They 

[181] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

wanted  to  know  how  such  high  buildings  could  be  made  to 
stand,  and  after  I  had  explained  their  construction  they  put 
many  very  pertinent  queries  as  to  light,  air,  and  appearance. 
But  I  have  now  said  enough  to  introduce  this  school  to 
my  readers,  and  the  pictures  will  do  the  rest.  My  only  regret 
is  that  it  is  impossible  to  give  some  of  the  illuminating  and 
interesting  stories  told  me  by  the  principal,  who,  if  he  had 
remained  in  England,  would  undoubtedly  have  been  one  of 
the  most  potent  and  valuable  educational  influences  in  that 
country,  but  who,  nevertheless,  seems  very  happy  "going 
about  doing  good"  just  where  he  is  in  the  Vale  of  Kashmir. 


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XXII 
TRAVELING  IN  A  HOUSEBOAT 

"Beneath  them,  waves  of  crystal  move 
In  silent  swell — heaven  glows  above" 
— Lalla  Rookh. 

THE  two  most  popular  river  trips  that  are  made  in 
houseboats  are  those  to  Ganderbal  and  Islamabad, 
one  being  down  the  river  and  the  other  up,  and  in 
this  way  one  is  able  to  enjoy  all  the  life  and  beauty  of  the 
river  scenery  while  traveling  in  his  own  house,  with  all  the 
servants,  the  kitchen  boat  and  rowboats.  It  is  important, 
however,  to  make  these  trips  during  the  more  favorable  sea- 
sons, either  in  June  or  September,  preferably  the  former,  as 
all  the  verdure  is  fresh  and  the  flowers  in  abundant  bloom 
during  that  month. 

So  one  beautiful  June  morning  soon  after  sunrise  we  made 
our  start  for  Ganderbal.  As  this  was  our  first  experience  in 
traveling  in  a  houseboat,  we  were  all  on  the  upper  deck  under 
the  awning  in  our  easy  chairs  to  take  in  the  features  of  the 
departure.  All  our  own  regular  servants  were  in  traveling 
costume,  which  means  that  they  had  stripped  off  everything 
that  the  law  would  permit,  so  that  if  anyone  fell  overboard 
he  would  be  clad  as  lightly  as  possible.  And  this  was  an  acci- 
dent (if  it  may  be  so  termed)  that  happened  not  infrequently. 
At  first  it  is  a  bit  alarming,  but  after  it  has  happened  a  number 
of  times  you  get  accustomed  to  it  and  hardly  notice  the  yells 
and  struggles  and  efforts  to  save  the  apparently  drowning  man. 
The  stakes  to  which  the  ropes  and  chains  were  attached 
were  pulled  up,  for  the  boat  was  fastened  to  the  bank  by  a 
heavy  iron  chain  at  either  end  with  ropes  between,  as  we  had 
been  tied  up  to  the  bank  for  a  very  long  time.  This  was 
especially  necessary  in  the  case  of  the  Diana,  as  owing  to  her 
exceptional  size  much  greater  care  was  required  in  all  her 
arrangements.    In  spite  of  the  heat  we  had  a  large  number  of 

[185] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

natives,  presumably  friends  of  the  servants,  to  see  us  off,  and 
conspicuous  among  them  were  a  policeman  and  a  letter-carrier. 
Just  why  they  were  there  we  did  not  understand,  as  we  had 
never  seen  either  of  them  before,  having  gone  to  the  postofhce 
ourselves,  or  sent  there  for  all  our  letters,  none  of  them  ever 
having  been  delivered.  But  they  made  themselves  so  very 
conspicuous  and  officious  that  I  asked  my  head  boatman  what 
it  meant,  and  he  told  me  that  they  had  appeared  in  order  that 
I  might  know  who  they  were  and  possibly  be  inclined  to  give 
them  a  tip.  When  I  asked  him  what  service  they  had  rendered, 
he  said  he  didn't  know  of  any,  but  that  this  was  a  habit  of 
these  men  and  that  whenever  a  boat  left  the  landing  or  the 
bank  they  would  at  least  give  the  travelers  an  opportunity  to 
recognize  their  existence.  I  said.  "How  much  of  an  insult  do 
you  think  would  be  satisfactory  to  them?"  Sultana,  my 
steward,  who  had  charge  of  all  the  affairs  of  the  boat,  over- 
hearing this,  said  he  thought  a  very  small  one,  and  asked  if  I 
would  be  willing  to  give  each  of  them  a  couple  of  annas,  or 
about  four  cents  each.  As  this  didn't  seem  like  a  very  serious 
and  dangerous  precedent  I  consented,  with  the  understanding 
that  they  should  be  very  modest  in  future  in  any  demands 
that  they  might  be  inclined  to  make. 

I  also  noticed  servants  from  the  houses  of  our  various 
friends,  who  had  brought  letters  to  us  and  flowers,  fruits,  etc., 
from  their  employers.  They  were  all  in  their  smartest  attire 
in  honor  of  the  occasion,  and  while  they  said  nothing,  their 
manner  indicated  that  they  expected  something.  They,  too, 
were  easily  satisfied,  and  when  the  stakes  were  pulled  up  and 
the  chains  and  ropes  taken  aboard,  which  was  done  in  the 
midst  of  an  immense  amount  of  yelling  and  shouting,  the 
boat  swung  slowly  out  into  the  current,  which  at  this  point 
and  at  that  season  was  pretty  swift,  and  it  required  the  ser- 
vices of  a  dozen  trackers,  who  served  as  rowers,  or  punters, 
to  keep  the  huge  Diana  in  the  proper  course.  All  of  these 
efforts  seemed  to  give  great  delight  to  the  crowd  of  men  and 
women  and  children  who  had  assembled  upon  the  bank.   One 

[186] 


WAYFARERS  ON  THE  ROAD  FROM  SRINAGAR  TO  BARAMULLA 

It  is  thirtv  miles  between  these  two  cities  and  the  broad  way  is  lined  on  each  side  by 
symmetrically  beautiful  poplars,  that  afford  a  vista  that  could  scarce  be  equalled  any- 
where else  in  the  world. 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

would  think,  perhaps,  that  this  was  a  very  rare  and  exceptional 
event,  but  it  isn't,  for  boats  are  coming  and  going  continually, 
and  yet  the  natives  find  these  incidents  so  much  more  interest- 
ing than  their  duties,  or  work,  that  they  avail  themselves  of 
the  very  slightest  excuse  to  become  onlookers. 

The  chief  boatman,  who  was  the  owner  of  our  kitchen  boat 
and  who  with  his  family  lived  in  the  kitchen  boat,  at  least  in 
one  end  of  it  (though  how  they  all  occupied  this  six  by  six 
strip  of  deck  when  there  were  two  husbands,  two  wives,  two 
small  boys  and  one  baby,  we  never  knew),  took  entire  charge 
of  the  expedition,  although  he  took  his  orders  from  Sultana, 
who  received  them  from  myself.  This  meant  that  the  head 
boatman  had  something  like  twenty  people  under  his  direction. 
They  were  divided  up  along  the  side  of  the  boat,  each  one 
having  a  certain  portion  of  the  space  on  the  little  passageway 
which  is  about  fourteen  inches  wide  and  runs  along  the  out- 
side of  the  boat  throughout  its  entire  length.  They  also  served 
as  rowers  and  sometimes  they  punted  and  sometimes  they 
did  something  like  rowing.  They  would  all  go  toward  the 
bow  to  the  limit  of  their  spaces  and  then  thrust  their  poles  in 
where  the  water  was  not  too  deep  and  would  push  the  boat 
along,  walking  as  they  went  to  the  other  end  of  their  beats. 
There  was  also  a  man  with  an  oar  at  the  front  of  the  boat  and 
one  in  the  rear  to  assist  in  guiding,  acting  as  helmsmen. 

Altogether  it  was  a  very  interesting  and  novel  experience. 
It  was  not,  however,  without  some  slight  accidents,  such  as 
bumping  into  other  boats  and  stirring  up  the  servants  and 
occupants  in  them,  some  of  whom  were  still  enjoying  their 
early  morning  slumbers  and  were  very  much  enraged  at  being 
disturbed.  This  naturally  resulted  in  some  rather  noisy  ver- 
bal interchanges  between  the  servants  of  the  different  boats, 
a  great  deal  of  shaking  of  fists  and  sticks,  and  occasionally 
the  shying  of  some  vegetable  at  one  another.  These  little 
pleasantries,  however,  were  soon  over  and  we  were  in  the 
midst  of  the  stream  on  our  way  down  the  river,  and  from  the 
start  all  the  way  through  the  city  under  each  of  these  seven 

[189] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

bridges  the  experience  was  one  of  unalloyed  delight,  so  much 
so  that  we  had  our  breakfast  served  on  the  deck  instead  of 
going  below  to  the  dining-room  as  we  had  been  accustomed 
to  do,  since  we  did  not  wish  to  lose  a  single  moment  of  this 
interesting  panorama  which  we  were  seeing  for  the  first  time 
from  such  an  elevation.  Hitherto  our  sails  up  and  down  the 
river  had  been  in  the  small  rowboat,  but  now  we  looked  down 
upon  all  the  smaller  craft  and  were  on  a  level  with  the  tops 
of  the  bank  in  many  places  so  that  we  had  a  fine  view  of  all 
the  features  of  the  river  life  and  scenery. 

This  feature  itself,  if  one  did  not  go  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  city,  would  amply  repay  for  all  the  expense  and  trouble. 
We  had  not  realized  how  much  better  it  was  possible  to  see 
things  from  this  elevation  than  from  the  level  of  the  water  in 
a  rowboat.  We  had,  too,  an  excellent  opportunity  to  study  the 
curious  and  fantastical  architecture  of  this  motley  conglomera- 
tion of  buildings,  and  got  a  very  much  better  idea  of  the 
Maharaja's  fine  palace,  as  well  as  the  adjacent  palaces,  build- 
ings and  grounds,  than  we  had  ever  had  before.  The  experience, 
too,  was  enriched  by  passing  the  Maharaja's  state  barge,  as 
well  as  that  of  the  Resident,  each  of  which  was  filled  with 
gaily  costumed  rowers  and  an  exceedingly  picturesque  cock- 
swain. Both  of  these  are  handsome  boats  and  the  oarsmen  row 
in  almost  mathematical  unison. 

When  we  had  passed  the  limits  of  the  city  the  banks 
were  more  even  and  lower,  so  that  we  could  readily  see  over 
them,  and  it  was  interesting,  too,  to  note  the  line  of  the 
road  from  Srinagar  to  Baramulla  on  the  one  side,  which  was 
seen  across  a  perfectly  level  meadow  some  distance  away,  and 
was  indicated  by  the  long  rows  of  shade  trees  that  lined  it  on 
either  side.  All  the  way  along  there  were  little  houses  and 
occasionally  hamlets.  At  this  point  we  began  to  make  remark- 
ably good  speed,  as  some  of  the  trackers  went  ashore  and 
pulled,  while  the  others  punted  and  rowed. 

As  stated  in  other  chapters,  the  river  bank  through  the 
city  is  lined  with  houseboats  and  all  sorts  of  crafts,  the  lower 

[190] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

portions  being  devoted  chiefly  to  native  houseboats,  and  this 
continued  more  or  less  of  the  distance  to  our  first  halting 
place,  where  we  tied  up  for  the  night.  We  had,  therefore,  after 
leaving  the  city  several  hours  of  delightful  and  restful  experi- 
ence, during  which  we  could  look  over  the  banks  and  the 
long  stretches  of  country  clear  to  the  distant  mountain  wall 
on  either  hand. 

The  only  incident  of  exceptional  interest  was  the  passing 
of  a  mad  woman,  who  was  groveling  on  the  bank.  One  of  our 
boatmen  went  ashore  to  see  what  the  difficulty  was  and  found 
a  beautiful  young  woman,  not  more  than  nineteen  years  of 
age,  who  had  been  cast  off  by  her  husband  and  had  lost  her 
little  child.  The  result  of  this  husband's  brutal  treatment, 
coupled  with  the  loss  of  the  infant,  had  so  unsettled  her 
reason  that  she  went  about  sleeping  in  the  fields  or  elsewhere, 
and  from  time  to  time  pleading  and  crying  for  her  husband 
to  come  back,  or  calling  for  her  child.  The  poor  soul  had 
frequently  little  or  nothing  to  eat — indeed,  when  we  first  saw 
her  she  was  grabbing  up  and  putting  in  her  mouth  some 
refuse  that  was  on  the  towpath.  It  was  quite  touching  to  see 
how  kind  the  boatmen  were  to  this  unfortunate,  but  the 
women  were  apparently  afraid  to  go  near  her,  as  she  was  an 
object  of  almost  superstitious  veneration  on  account  of  her 
being,  as  they  termed  it,  "possessed  of  the  spirit." 

Near  sunset  the  lights  and  color  effects  were  very  beautiful, 
as  we  pulled  up  to  the  shore  to  tie  up  for  the  night  at  Shadipur, 
where  there  is  a  large  grove  of  very  beautiful  chenar  trees.  It 
is  a  particularly  nice  place  for  houseboats  to  moor  in  the  cold 
water  of  the  Sind  River,  which  presents  a  striking  contrast 
to  that  of  the  Jhelum,  the  latter  being  dirty  and  muddy  and 
more  or  less  filled  with  all  sorts  of  rubbish,  while  the  water  of 
the  Sind  is  as  clear  as  crystal  and  almost  as  cold  as  ice — so 
clear  that  you  readily  see  the  bottom  almost  anywhere,  and 
so  cold  that  it  doesn't  require  any  ice.  Here,  with  the  boat 
in  the  shade  of  some  of  these  splendid  old  trees,  we  had  our 
dinner  on  the  bank,  the  table,  dishes,  etc.,  having  been  placed 

[193] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

there  in  order  that  we  might  have  this  agreeable  experience. 
And  so  polite  and  considerate  were  the  natives  who  lived  in 
the  village  a  short  distance  away  that  none  of  them  came 
near  to  annoy  or  disturb  us,  or  even  pay  their  respects  until 
after  this  meal  was  over,  when  some  came  to  extend  a  welcome 
to  friends  among  the  servants,  and  to  ask  who  we  were  and 
other  questions  prompted  by  curiosity  and  interest.  We  had 
also  a  charming  walk  in  the  twilight,  so  the  day  was  a  full 
one  as  well  as  very  agreeable. 


194 


Another  view  of  the  Lidar  Valley,  at  a  point  above  Phalgram.    The  wild  grandeur  of 
this  scenery  beggars  description  and  must  be  seen  to  be  appreciated. 


•r** 


F 


The  Lidar  River  is  a  turbulent  stream  that  sweeps  down  from  the  mountains  through 

the  Lidar  Valley.    It  is  especially  beautiful  here  at  Gulmarg  as  it  flows  over  rapids  and 

its  waters  are  tossed  into  a  white  foaming  spray. 


XXIII 
GANDERBAL 

"And,  suddenly,  a  tuneful  breeze, 
As  full  of  small,  rich  harmonies 
As  ever  wind,  that  o'er  the  tents 
Of  Azab  blew,  was  full  of  scents." 

— Lalla  Rookh. 

THE  following  morning  we  were  up,  at  least  the  boat- 
men were,  at  daybreak,  making  preparations  to  go  up 
the  Sind,  indeed  the  boat  was  detached  from  the  bank 
and  the  trackers  started  on  their  way.  But  before  we  had 
gone  more  than  a  hundred  yards,  the  boat  was  fast  against 
the  bank.  After  a  long  time  it  was  pulled  away  and  then  we 
made  another  short  distance,  with  a  similar  experience.  This 
was  repeated  for  the  third  time  when  Sultana  came  to  me  and 
said  that  the  head  boatman  was  afraid  it  would  be  impossible 
for  him  to  get  up  the  river,  as  the  current  was  so  swift,  the 
river  was  so  narrow,  and  our  boat  so  very  large  and  cumber- 
some. 

This  was  exceedingly  disappointing  information,  as  one  of 
our  chief  pleasures  had  been  the  anticipation  of  just  this  sail 
up  the  Sind  River.  A  conference  was  held  with  Sultana,  the 
head  boatman,  and  the  captain  of  the  coolies,  which  resulted  in 
their  saying  that  they  would  try  to  go  on  if  I  insisted  on  it, 
but  that  it  would  probably  take  several  days  to  get  as  far  as 
Ganderbal,  and,  as  the  time  ordinarily  required  was  only  a 
few  hours,  we  didn't  look  forward  to  this  snail-like  progress 
with  any  pleasure.  However,  they  concluded  to  make  one 
further  effort,  and  all  went  fairly  well  until  we  came  to  a 
sharp  turn  in  the  river,  and  here  the  great  length  of  the  boat 
made  it  impossible  for  us  to  go  around,  and  we  were  fast  at 
each  end  and  in  the  middle.  This  was  so  discouraging  that 
we  had  another  conference  and  the  result  of  that  was  that  we 
concluded  to  accept  the  suggestion  of  the  head  boatman  to 
have  the  kitchen  boat  cleaned  up  and  one  of  the  compartments 

[197] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

(for  they  are  open  on  the  sides,  having  merely  a  sort  of  an 
awning  that  falls  down  to  protect  them  from  the  sun  and 
weather)  prepared  for  our  use  so  that  we  could  be  pulled  up 
the  river  in  that.  These  arrangements  were  carried  out  in  a 
very  short  time  and  we  were  very  much  pleased  at  the  way 
in  which  they  had  spread  the  rugs  on  the  floor  of  this  compart- 
ment and  arranged  our  easy  chairs  and  books  and  other 
articles  that  we  would  wish  on  the  way  up  the  river.  After 
this  our  progress  was  very  rapid,  for  this  was  a  real  boat, 
pointed  at  each  end  and  intended  for  sailing  purposes,  and 
not  like  the  houseboat,  intended  chiefly  for  dwelling  purposes. 

Indeed,  we  went  so  smoothly  and  rapidly  that  we  reached 
Ganderbal  just  after  tiffin,  which  we  had  had  served  on  the 
bank  in  the  shade  of  some  delightful  chenar  trees.  Our  friends 
who  had  been  staying  in  Ganderbal  were  just  taking  their 
after-tiffin  siesta,  from  which  we  awakened  them  by  our 
arrival. 

The  river  at  this  point  broadens  out  somewhat,  but  is 
fairly  choked  by  the  number  of  houseboats,  some  of  which  are 
pretty  large,  but  most  of  which  are  of  the  kind  called  dungah 
boats,  which  are  a  sort  of  boat  and  houseboat  with  pointed 
ends  for  sailing  in  shallow  water  and  around  crooked  turns. 
This  spot,  as  will  be  inferred  from  the  large  number  who  were 
there,  is  a  very  favorite  one  at  this  season,  and  in  fact  many 
remain  there  all  summer,  there  being  few  if  any  mosquitoes 
and  the  air  is  cooled  by  the  water,  which  comes  fresh  from  the 
melting  snow  and  ice  of  the  mountains,  which  are  only  a 
short  distance  away.  There  was  formerly  a  stone  bridge  across 
the  river  at  this  point,  but  it  has  been  destroyed  and  now 
there  are  merely  the  picturesque  remains  of  three  of  the  arches. 

Most  of  the  people  had  brought  their  tents  with  them  and 
were  camping  in  the  shade  of  the  trees  on  the  shores,  or  back 
on  the  plain,  but  as  it  had  been  rather  dry,  there  having  been 
very  little  rainfall  for  some  time,  the  grass  was  brown  and 
withered  and  everything  looked  rather  arid  and  dusty,  so  that 
we  were  a  little  disappointed  in  Ganderbal,  of  which  we  had 

[198] 


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—    - 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

heard  such  glowing  descriptions.  But  the  people  there  seemed 
to  have  a  very  good  time — there  were  picnics  and  excursions, 
afternoon  teas,  badminton  parties  and  dances  almost  daily, 
not  to  mention  fishing  and  hunting,  the  former  being  especially 
good  owing  to  the  coldness  of  the  water,  and  never  have  we 
eaten  more  delicious  fish  than  those  that  were  caught  and 
cooked  while  we  were  there. 

We  had  so  many  friends,  or  so  many  invitations  from 
different  friends  to  afternoon  tea  that  our  family  was  divided 
and  went  in  six  different  directions,  and  when  we  reassembled, 
about  five  o'clock,  we  started  on  our  return  journey  down  the 
river.  So  swift  was  the  current  that  we  reached  the  Diana, 
which  had  been  taken  back  to  her  former  mooring,  in  good  time 
for  dinner,  and  there  we  passed  our  second  night,  which  was 
not  as  quiet  as  the  first  had  been,  owing  to  the  visit  of  some 
strange  dogs  from  an  adjacent  community.  These  so-called 
pie  dogs,  or  mongrels,  as  a  rule  are  rather  mangy-looking  and 
great  cowards,  but  they  serve  as  scavengers  and  to  some 
extent  as  protectors.  But  when  visiting  dogs  come  to  a  com- 
munity their  welcome  is  likely  to  be  of  so  warm  a  character 
that  if  they  escape  with  their  lives  they  are  fortunate,  and  our 
impression  was  that  the  visitors  and  the  residents  must  have 
been  pretty  evenly  balanced,  because  the  row  went  on  at 
intervals  nearly  all  night. 

Our  return  up  the  river  the  following  day  was  very  much 
slower,  not  only  owing  to  the  fact  that  we  were  going  against 
the  current  with  a  very  large  boat,  but  we  were  unfortunate 
enough  to  have  a  heavy  wind-storm  which  made  it  almost 
impossible  to  move  the  boat  at  all.  Indeed  we  were  tied  up 
at  times  for  an  hour  or  more  waiting  for  a  lull  in  the  storm 
before  we  could  proceed.  And  at  last  when  we  reached  the 
city,  instead  of  attempting  to  go  through  the  river  as  we  had 
in  coming  down,  we  were  pulled  into  one  of  the  canals  (for 
the  country  in  and  about  the  city  is  intersected  by  a  perfect 
network  of  these  canals,  some  of  which  cut  off  the  sharp  turns 
in  the  river  and  make  it  possible  to  go  from  point  to  point 

[201  ] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

very  much  more  rapidly),  and  while  we  avoided  the  wind, 
the  canal  was  so  narrow  and  there  were  so  many  other  boats 
in  it,  some  of  which  were  apparently  trying  to  do  what  we 
were,  that  our  progress  was  very  slow,  and  the  rows  were 
almost  incessant  for  it  was  well-nigh  impossible  to  avoid 
collision  with  so  many  boats  going  and  coming — or  attempting 
to  go  and  come — in  this  limited  space.  All  of  which  meant 
that  it  was  about  half-past  ten  when  we  succeeded  in  finding 
a  mooring  on  the  bank  in  the  upper  part  of  the  city,  not  where 
we  had  been  before,  for  our  own  mooring  was  taken  almost 
before  we  left  it,  as  it  was  considered  so  desirable.  We  had 
been  there  such  a  long  time,  and  the  rule  is  that  the  last 
comer  has  to  take  what  he  can  find  and  be  content  until 
somebody  else  moves  out.  Sometimes  it  is  very  funny  to  see 
three  or  four  boats  all  trying  to  get  the  same  place  at  the 
same  time. 


[  202  ] 


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XXIV 
ISLAMABAD 

"Shooting  around  their  jasper  fount 
Her  little  garden  mosque  to  see" 
— Lalla  Rookh. 

ON  another  glorious  June  day  we  made  an  equally  early 
start  for  Islamabad,  and  this  was,  in  a  different  way, 
quite  as  interesting  as  the  trip  to  Ganderbal,  but  it 
requires  considerably  more  time  as  the  distance  is  much 
greater.  From  the  standpoint  of  river  scenery  this  is  dis- 
tinctly more  interesting  than  the  trip  to  Ganderbal,  for  the 
river  is  crossed  by  bridges  at  times,  and  the  groves  of  chenar 
and  other  trees  are  in  some  places  wonderfully  beautiful. 
There  are  also  a  number  of  villages,  as  will  be  seen. 

At  the  outset  our  departure  was  punctuated  at  very  fre- 
quent intervals  by  greetings  from  our  friends  who  were  tied 
up  in  their  boats  along  the  bank,  and  at  some  of  these  boats 
we  paused  for  a  little  visit.  Owing  to  the  boat  being  so  large 
our  progress  against  the  current  was  naturally  very  slow  and 
on  one  or  two  occasions  we  were  tied  up  on  sandbanks,  to  our 
great  disgust,  for  some  time.  But  we  succeeded  in  reaching  a 
point  near  Pampur  for  the  night,  and  nowhere — not  even  in 
Egypt  or  Venice — had  we  had  more  gorgeous  sunset  effects 
than  we  had  here.  I  wish  it  were  possible  to  convey  some  idea 
of  the  great  beauty  of  these  light  and  color  effects  on  the 
magnificent  evergreen  trees  and  the  picturesque  groups  of 
native  houses  that  line  the  shore. 

It  was  so  late  that  we  did  not  attempt  to  go  ashore,  defer- 
ring that  until  our  return  voyage.  The  next  morning  we  were 
off  at  daybreak,  and  passed  Avantipur,  where  we  paused  only 
long  enough  to  make  a  few  purchases,  tying  up  for  the  night 
at  a  beautiful  spot  on  the  bank  of  the  river  not  far  from  one 
of  the  exceedingly  picturesque  bridges. 

The  following  morning  we  again  made  a  very  early  start 
and   stopped   for  the   night  at  a  picturesque  village  called 

[205] 

> 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

Sangram.  The  next  day  was  our  last  before  reaching  Islama- 
bad and  one  of  the  most  interesting  as  well,  because  we 
paused  for  afternoon  tea  at  what  is  perhaps  the  finest  chenar 
grove  in  the  Valley  of  Kashmir,  near  a  place  called  Bijbehara, 
where  we  also  met  some  of  our  Srinagar  friends  who  were 
camping  before  going  on  to  Pahlgam.  Later  we  continued  on 
to  the  landing  in  Islamabad,  where  there  were  almost  number- 
less boats  and  many  interesting  events  all  the  time  we  were 
there  day  and  night. 

We  were  fortunate  in  securing  a  good  place  at  which  to 
tie  up,  Sultana  having  bribed  a  native  boat  to  go  away  and 
let  us  have  it.  Islamabad  is  a  very  interesting  point,  not  only 
because  of  the  trees,  the  native  life,  the  beauty  of  the  situa- 
tion, and  the  river  and  land  scenery,  but  because  of  the  large 
number  of  visitors  who  are  there  and  the  number  of  horses 
and  donkeys  required  to  make  the  various  excursions. 

Our  arrangements  for  the  following  day  were  completed 
before  we  retired  and  at  six  o'clock  the  next  morning  our 
cavalcade  of  equestrians  started  for  Martund.  The  road  for 
the  most  part,  until  we  reached  the  point  where  we  began  to 
climb  the  mountain,  was  very  dusty  and  the  ascent  to  the 
plateau  pretty  steep.  It  was  a  ride  of  about  six  miles,  and 
one  of  our  party  who  was  not  fond  of  horseback  was  carried 
up  in  what  is  called  a  "dandy,"  which  somewhat  resembles 
an  old-fashioned  coffin  on  poles. 

Our  ride  was  enlivened  by  a  shower  of  rain,  which  fortu- 
nately was  over  before  we  reached  the  temples.  It  would  be 
hard  to  find  a  more  impressive  site  than  that  upon  which 
these  temples  are  built,  and  the  air  is  delicious  at  this  elevation 
and  the  view  very  beautiful,  for  the  Valley  stretches  out  be- 
fore you  for  many  miles  and  the  river  at  that  distance  looks 
like  a  silver  serpent  winding  among  the  trees.  Of  the  temples 
themselves  a  description  will  be  found  elsewhere  and  I  will 
merely  mention  here  that  the  visit  ranks  in  interest  with  the 
most  memorable  ones  that  we  have  had  in  any  part  of  the 
world,  even  the  visit  to  the  pyramids  in  Egypt. 

[206] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

On  our  return  across  this  plateau  we  were  very  much 
interested  in  the  farmers  and  their  primitive  mode  of  tilling 
the  soil,  which  sometimes  was  done  by  a  sharpened  root 
drawn  by  a  couple  of  men  and  held  by  a  third.  We  passed  a 
number  of  flocks  of  goats  and  sheep,  but  not  many  cows. 

The  surroundings  of  Islamabad,  because  of  the  beautiful 
gardens,  are  of  exceptional  interest,  and  the  royal  fish-ponds, 
with  the  sacred  fish,  are  visited  not  only  by  thousands  of  the 
natives  but  great  numbers  of  tourists.  We  were  back  in  time 
not  only  to  visit  these  gardens  and  many  of  the  streets  and 
bazaars,  but  for  a  late  tifnn,  and  able  to  get  away  from  this 
maddening  babble  of  sounds  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
It  was  particularly  delightful  to  lounge  in  our  easy  chairs  on 
our  upper  deck  and  enjoy  the  rare  beauty  of  the  scenery  on 
the  way  down  the  river  to  Bijbehara,  where  we  were  to  camp 
for  the  night.  Our  friends  had  gone  and  we  had  this  vast  beau- 
tifully laid  out  grove  entirely  to  ourselves — not  even  the  natives 
were  about.  The  town,  which  is  just  across  the  river,  was  far 
enough  away  to  be  very  picturesque  without  disturbing  us. 

Our  dinner  was  served  under  the  shade  of  one  of  these 
splendid  trees,  and  after  we  had  visited  the  various  features 
of  interest,  including  the  remains  of  a  fountain  and  some  carved 
work,  we  paused  to  view  the  ruins  of  the  temple,  in  the  midst 
of  a  cluster  of  trees  and  shrubs,  and  near  which  were  en- 
camped the  so-called  holy  men.  These  men  are  clad  as  a  rule 
simply  as  nature  made  them,  with  possibly  a  very  abbreviated 
loin  cloth,  and  their  bodies  seemed  to  have  been  smeared 
with  oil  and  then  sprinkled  with  ashes.  As  many  of  them 
have  tawny-colored  hair  (whether  it  is  produced  by  art  or  is 
natural  I  do  not  know),  they  present  a  very  striking  appear- 
ance, especially  as  some  of  them  are  quite  young  and  hand- 
some while  others  have  long  black  beards,  and  still  others 
gray  or  white  hair  and  beards.  They  live  on  what  is  given 
them  and  have  no  covering,  as  a  rule,  save  that  of  the  sky, 
nor  any  couch  save  that  of  the  ground.  Beside  the  bank  were 
a  number  of  houseboats  belonging  to  people  who  had  gone 

[207] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

on  with  their  tents  and  camps  for  a  tour  through  the  moun- 
tains or  a  stay  at  Pahlgam. 

The  following  day  we  had  a  stretch  of  very  steep  bank, 
with  precipitous  steps  from  the  water  to  the  top,  and  in  fact 
there  were  two  or  three  flights  of  these  steps  at  intervals. 
Although  it  was  about  five  o'clock  in  the  morning,  there  were 
men  at  one,  women  at  another,  and  men  and  women  together 
at  a  third,  while  way  off  on  the  hillside  were  the  scantily  clad 
shepherds  surrounded  by  their  flocks  of  sheep  or  herds  of  goats 
charmingly  silhouetted  against  the  golden  sky. 

About  noon  we  reached  Avantipur  again  and  went  ashore 
to  visit  the  various  temples,  a  brief  description  of  which  will 
be  found  elsewhere.  Here,  or  soon  after  leaving,  we  had  such 
a  heavy  wind-storm  that  we  were  compelled  to  tie  up  and 
unable  to  proceed  to  Pampur,  where  we  had  hoped  to  pass 
the  night. 

We  got  started  very  early  the  following  day  and  went 
ashore  at  the  Maharaja's  palace  in  Pampur,  which  is  sur- 
rounded by  very  pretty  gardens  with  some  beautiful  trees. 
We  had  two  purposes  in  landing — one  was  to  get  some  more 
of  the  Pampur  bread,  a  large  supply  of  which  we  had  laid  in 
on  the  way  up  and  liked  very  much.  It  is  in  thin  sheets  about 
nine  inches  in  diameter,  somewhat  resembling  a  wafer,  but 
tastes  like  fresh  popcorn.  Curiously  enough  it  is  made  nowhere 
else  in  Kashmir  except  in  Pampur,  and  is  sent  from  there  all 
over  the  Valley.  Our  other  object  was  to  see  one  of  the  puttoo 
mills.  This  we  found  to  be,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  a  sort  of  hovel, 
and  in  the  room  where  the  looms  were,  which  was  about  six 
by  ten,  and  six  and  a  half  feet  high,  with  only  two  small 
tightly  closed  windows  and  with  walls  and  ceiling  as  black 
as  ink,  there  were  eight  men  at  work  on  the  looms  making 
this  homespun  cloth  for  garments.  Sultana  bought  some 
twenty-four  yards  of  this  material  for  twenty  rupees,  which 
would  be  six  dollars  and  sixty-six  cents,  this  same  material 
costing  in  New  York  about  three  dollars  a  yard. 

[208] 


HOLY  MEN 

At  every  turn,  in  the  crowded  bazaars  or  in  the  solitudes  of  the  mountains,  these  so-called 

"Holy  Men"  are  seen.    They  wear  little  or  no  clothing,  but  cover  their  bodies  with  "il 

and  then  sprinkle  themselves  with  ashes.    Their  bed  is  the  earth,  their  shelter  the  sky 

and  their  food  whatever  they  can  find  or  beg. 


T    HE    VALE    OF    KASHMIR 

As  we  were  leaving,  two  very  magnificent  natives  came  out 
in  the  road  and  presented  us  with  huge  bouquets  from  the 
royal  gardens.  Of  course,  this  meant  an  acknowledgment  in 
the  shape  of  rupees. 

From  there  to  Srinagar  we  were  rowed  in  the  rapid  current 
in  a  very  short  time  and  were  fortunate  enough  to  find  an 
even  better  mooring  than  we  had  left  when  we  went  up  the 
river. 


[211] 


XXV 

GULMARG 

"When  from  power  and  pomp,  and  the  trophies  of  war 
He  flew  to  that  valley,  forgetting  them  all" 

— Lalla  Rookh. 

WHILE  there  are  many  resorts  to  which  visitors  or 
residents  in  the  Valley  go  during  the  hot  months  of 
July  and  August,  there  is  probably  none  that  com- 
pares in  popularity  with  Gulmarg.  Nor  is  this  due  simply  to 
the  fact  that  the  Maharaja  and  the  British  Resident  make  it 
their  official  summer  home,  as  there  are  many  factors  that 
influence  people  to  choose  this  as  their  place  of  residence  for 
these  two  months,  not  the  least  of  which  is,  in  all  probability, 
the  exceptionally  fine  provision  made  for  golf.  As  the  number 
of  people  going  to  Gulmarg  the  early  part  of  July  is  very 
great,  it  is  necessary  to  make  arrangements  some  time  ahead, 
in  order  to  secure  the  ekkas,  tongas  and  baggage  ponies.  Our 
own  provision  in  this  respect  had  been  made  some  three 
weeks  in  advance  of  the  date  named,  and  a  large  portion  of 
our  luggage  and  effects  was  sent  on  the  day  before,  with  all  of 
our  servants  that  could  be  spared.  The  ekkas  were  used  for 
some  of  the  larger  pieces  of  luggage  and  the  servants,  but  most 
of  the  effects  were  strapped  on  the  backs  of  the  luggage  ponies, 
and  as  they  came  to  the  bank  just  beside  the  boat  it  was  a 
very  interesting  process  to  witness  the  cleverness  with  which 
the  bundles  were  made  up  so  that  they  would  be  equally 
balanced  on  either  side  of  the  pony. 

On  the  following  morning  we  left  with  two  motors  and 
went  straight  through  from  Srinagar  to  Tangmarg,  where 
we  alighted  to  mount  the  ponies  on  which  we  were  to  ride 
when  we  climbed  the  mountain  path,  as  it  takes  about  an 
hour  to  go  from  this  point  to  the  Valley  of  Gulmarg.  Under 
ordinary  circumstances  it  is  a  delightful  and  glorious  ride, 
but  a  heavy  thunder-storm  came  up  when  we  were  about  half 

[212] 


The  Royal  Post  Tonga  that  carries  all  the  mail  in  and  out  of  Kashmir,  traveling  over 
the  pass  night  and  day  with  remarkable  regularity. 


The  Kashmir  sedan.    Were  it  not  that  the  sympathy  of  the  traveler  is  aroused  by  the 
carriers  of   this   peculiar  conveyance,   this   mode   of  travel   would   be  quite   ideal   lor 

mountain  climbing. 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

way  up  the  mountain  and  this  continued  for  two  or  three 
hours.  In  consequence  we  were  all  thoroughly  soaked  before 
we  reached  the  top  and  naturally  in  no  very  favorable  mood 
to  appreciate  the  beauties  of  the  scenery.  At  last  when  we 
arrived  at  the  top  of  the  rim  of  the  mountain  that  surrounds 
the  so-called  Valley  of  Gulmarg,  we  realized  that  this  valley 
is  like  a  basin — a  huge  emerald  basin  perched  against  the 
mountain  wall.  From  the  outer  rim  of  this  basin  the  mountain 
descends  as  a  sheer  precipice  to  the  level  of  the  valley  on  all 
sides  but  one,  where  it  rises  in  stately  slopes  to  its  lofty  crest. 
As  this  rim  and  much  of  the  basin  itself,  as  well  as  portions 
of  the  mountain  wall,  are  beautifully  wooded  with  splendid 
evergreen  trees,  there  are  abundant  opportunities  for  bridle- 
paths and  delightful  rides.  Along  the  top  of  this  rim  are 
some  of  the  finest  summer  homes,  including  those  of  the 
British  Resident  and  the  Maharaja,  while  the  slopes  of  the 
bowl-like  valley  are  dotted  in  all  directions  with  what  are 
called  huts,  and  some  of  which  are  extremely  picturesque  cot- 
tages. Although  later  on,  toward  the  latter  part  of  July  and 
until  after  the  middle  of  August,  as  the  number  of  huts  is 
entirely  inadequate,  the  whole  valley  looks  like  a  huge  en- 
campment because  of  the  large  number  of  white  tents  that 
dot  it  in  all  directions. 

On  one  of  the  entrances  to  the  Valley  of  Gulmarg  is  the 
long  street  of  native  bazaars  that  are  open  only  during  these 
few  months,  as  there  are  no  winter  residents  in  Gulmarg  and 
no  town,  everyone  coming  from  elsewhere  for  the  summer  and 
leaving  at  the  close  of  the  season.  People  who  have  gone  up  in 
November  or  March  have  been  struck  by  the  seeming  deso- 
lation. 

On  our  first  rainy  advent  we  became  separated  from  our 
guide  and,  as  there  are  no  streets  in  the  proper  sense  of  the 
word  and  no  carriages  of  any  kind  (for  it  would  be  impossible 
for  one  to  be  brought  up  the  mountain  owing  to  the  fact  that 
there  are  no  roads  and  nothing  but  narrow  bridle-paths),  we 
were  not  in  a  mood  to  feel  much  interest  in  anything  but  find- 

[215] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

ing  our  cottage.  This  took  about  four  times  as  long  as  it 
ought,  because  none  of  us  were  able  to  speak  the  language 
of  the  country  and  we  were  not  fortunate  enough  to  pass 
any  English  people  or  English-speaking  natives.  However,  at 
last  we  did  reach  our  compound  and  found  that  we  had  a 
very  comfortable  hut,  with  a  fireplace  in  each  room  and 
connecting  bath-rooms.  We  also  had  a  stable  in  the  rear  and 
were  surrounded  by  some  of  the  finest  trees  on  the  mountain, 
while  from  our  veranda,  which  ran  across  the  whole  length 
of  the  hut,  we  had  beautiful  views  of  certain  portions  of  the 
valley  and  the  golf-links  only  a  short  distance  away.  On  either 
side  were  English  neighbors,  and  across  a  little  brook  that 
skirted  the  compound  was  a  charming  grove  which  was  used 
by  some  of  the  natives  as  a  dairy.  At  first  we  were  inclined 
to  object  to  this,  but  afterward  we  became  quite  attached  to 
seeing  the  cattle  go  out  and  come  in  each  day,  and  enjoyed 
being  able  to  get  all  the  milk  and  cream  we  wanted  without 
the  slightest  difficulty.  Moreover,  some  of  the  little  calves 
were  allowed  to  graze  in  our  compound  and  it  gave  the  place 
a  decidedly  bucolic  look  to  see  them,  with  the  sheep,  geese, 
chickens,  ducks  and  ponies,  all  wandering  without  restraint. 
As  has  been  stated  elsewhere,  there  are  two  roads,  the 
inner  and  the  outer  circles,  the  one  being  on  the  inner  side 
of  the  rim  of  this  bowl — a  bowl  about  two  miles  long  and  one- 
half  mile  broad — and  going,  through  the  trees,  all  the  way 
around  the  bowl;  and  the  other  on  the  outer  side,  which  also 
is  in  the  midst  of  noble  shade  trees.  The  former  of  course 
commands  a  wide  variety  of  charming  prospects  of  the  Valley 
of  Gulmarg  itself,  and  the  latter  of  the  entire  vast  stretch  of 
the  Valley  of  Kashmir.  These  two  roads  permit  a  constant 
diversion  of  walks  and  rides  and  so  wide  a  variety  of  combina- 
tions can  one  make  by  going  over  passes  from  the  outer  to 
the  inner  road  that  there  ensues  a  never-failing  variety  of 
experiences.  As  this  valley  is  about  eight  thousand  five  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  sea  it  is  almost  invariably  cool,  if  not  cold, 
and  the  name  Gulmarg,  or  "Meadow  of  Roses,"  seems  almost 

[216] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

like  a  misnomer  at  certain  times  when  you  have  fires  burning 
in  every  room  throughout  the  twenty-four  hours  and  even 
then  are  unable  to  keep  warm. 

One  who  has  visited  in  Kashmir  for  a  great  many  years 
says  of  Gulmarg:  "The  climate  would  be  delightful  but  for 
the  frequent  rain,  which  is  at  least  three  times  as  much  as  at 
Srinagar."  On  the  other  hand,  the  scenery  and  flowers  are 
lovely  and  the  natural  advantages  of  this  spot  immensely 
superior  to  those  of  any  other  Himalayan  station.  The  view 
across  the  valley  in  clear  weather,  which  includes  the  Wular 
Lake  and  the  snow-capped  mural  ridges  beyond,  is  certainly 
magnificent.  The  Nanga  Parbat,  although  it  is  ninety  miles 
to  the  north,  lifts  its  snowy  peak  nearly  twenty-seven  thousand 
feet  in  the  air  and  can  be  seen  to  a  beautiful  advantage.  Indeed, 
many  think  it  compares  very  favorably,  because  of  its  fas- 
cinating spell,  with  the  view  of  Kinchinjunga  from  Darjeeling. 


[217] 


XXVI 
THE  PEOPLE 

"Till  shame  at  last,  long  hidden,  burns 
Their  inmost  core,  and  conscience  turns" 
— Lalla  Rookh. 

ON  this  topic  it  would  be  easy  to  write  volumes,  but  we 
must  confine  ourselves  to  a  few  features  of  more  than 
general  interest,  speaking,  first  of  all,  perhaps,  of  the 
physique.  The  impression  produced  is  of  a  people  somewhat 
below  the  average  middle  height,  and  yet  for  the  most  part 
they  are  remarkably  well  developed  and  in  some  instances 
almost  statuesque.  The  men,  many  of  whom  wear  full  beards, 
although  it  has  become  fashionable  with  some  of  the  more  up-to- 
date  younger  members  to  affect  a  mustache,  even  when  they 
look  strong  and  powerful  and  are  able  to  do  an  average  amount 
of  manual  labor,  seem  to  be  wanting  in  stamina  and  virility. 
You  have  a  feeling  that  there  is  a  lack  of  toughness  and 
endurance — a  suggestion  of  being  washed  out  and  requiring 
vital  substance.  The  features  are  of ttimes  extremely  handsome, 
almost  classic  in  their  regularity,  and  while  the  majority  are 
dark  and  have  black  eyes  and  beards,  occasionally  a  blond  is 
to  be  seen. 

The  women,  who  are  famed  for  their  beauty,  would  hardly 
suggest  this  renown  to  the  superficial  visitor,  and  yet  a  longer 
and  fuller  acquaintance  with  them  causes  one  to  realize  that 
this  reputation  for  beauty  is  after  all  very  well  deserved,  and 
it  would  perhaps  be  impossible  to  find  more  perfect  features 
or  more  beautiful  coloring  or  more  exquisite  development  of 
form  and  figure  than  is  occasionally  found,  especially  among 
the,  so  to  speak,  better  classes,  where  there  is  a  seeming 
refinement  and  spirituality,  that  exists  more  largely  in  appear- 
ance than  in  reality. 

The  lower  classes,  while  stronger  and  more  vital,  with 
fuller  and  better  rounded  figures,  are  chiefly  suggestive  of  the 
animal  type  of  development,  although  it  is  animal  beauty  of 

[218] 


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THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

a  very  rich  and  vital  kind.  This  word  "vital,"  however,  should 
be  modified  by  the  statement  that  practically  all  of  the 
Kashmiri  give  one  the  impression  of  being  in  a  sense  physical 
degenerates.  You  have  a  feeling  that  power  and  strength  and 
virility  should  be  breathed  into  them  indefinitely  in  order  to 
have  the  nature  a  balanced  one.  This  physical  degeneracy  is 
reflected  in,  or  associated  with,  mental  and  moral  degeneracy, 
not  that  all  are  degenerates,  but  very  few  have  mental  powers 
of  a  high  order  or  even  an  average  degree,  and,  fewer  still, 
moral  qualities  that  would  commend  themselves  as  being 
fine  types  to  one  accustomed  to  Occidental  standards.  As 
stated  and  implied  in  other  chapters,  one  has  a  feeling  that 
lying  is  really  the  rule,  habit  and  a  characteristic,  it  being 
more  natural  to  lie  than  to  tell  the  truth,  and  to  gain  a  point 
it  is  considered  the  most  natural  thing  to  lie  in  any  way  or  to 
any  degree.  This,  of  course,  is  rather  trying  to  one  when  he 
first  comes  to  the  Valley  with  a  different  standard,  and  it  is 
hard  when  you  hear  a  man  or  woman  tell  you  a  thing,  with  a 
perfectly  serious,  solemn,  earnest  expression  of  countenance, 
although  perhaps  a  vacuous  one,  and  know  that  in  all  likeli- 
hood there  is  no  truth  in  anything  that  is  being  stated.  So 
common  is  this  habit  of  lying  that  they  frequently  lie  when 
the  truth  would  serve  a  much  better  purpose  and  they  seem 
almost  instinctively  to  lie  when  it  would  be  much  simpler  and 
more  helpful  to  them  if  they  merely  stated  things  as  they 
actually  were. 

With  this  mendacity  goes,  very  naturally,  a  pilfering  habit, 
for  it  very  generally  happens  that  a  liar  is  also  a  thief.  That 
rule  is  even  more  true  in  the  Orient,  and  especially  in  Kashmir, 
than  in  the  West.  Indeed,  it  might  almost  be  accepted  as  an 
axiom  that  very  nearly  all  of  them  are  thieves.  So  generally 
is  this  recognized  and  accepted  even  among  themselves  that 
practically  everything  they  wish  to  keep  is  either  put  under 
lock  and  key  or  hidden,  and  the  visitor  is  compelled  to  keep 
all  his  foods  locked  up,  as  well  as  all  his  provisions.  They  even 
steal  the  kerosene  oil.    A  can  of  five  gallons  is  found  to  be 

[221  ] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

going  very  rapidly,  an  investigation  is  made  and  it  is  dis- 
covered that  certain  of  the  servants  when  they  fill  the  lamps 
fill  some  bottles  at  the  same  time  and  carry  these  bottles  to 
their  own  portion  of  the  boat  and  hide  them  under  the  boarding 
of  the  deck.  They  even  go  so  far  as  to  steal  the  fire-wood, 
which  is  here  bought  not  by  the  cord,  but  by  the  pound,  and 
is  more  expensive  than  most  articles  in  this  section  of  the 
world.  The  servants  will  arrange  with  one  another  to  take 
from  each  purchase  a  certain  percentage  for  their  own  use, 
and  it  sometimes  happens  that  when  a  sufficient  accumulation 
of  these  percentages  has  been  made,  the  proprietor  buys  a 
given  quantity  of  wood  that  he  has  already  paid  for.  In  other 
words  the  stolen  wood  is  sold  back  to  him  a  second  time. 

Nor  are  they  any  better  in  the  matter  of  cleanliness,  to 
which  reference  has  been  made  in  other  parts  of  the  book. 
They  do  bathe,  it  is  true,  but  their  homes  are  hotbeds  of  filth 
and  vermin.  Frequently  they  have  nothing  but  a  dirt  floor 
that  is  alive  with  fleas,  and  the  accumulations  of  filth  about 
the  room  are  so  great  and  so  noxious  that  there  is  not  only  a 
sickening  odor,  but  a  positive  danger.  It  is  due  to  this  that 
they  have  had  such  fearful  visitations  of  cholera,  smallpox, 
leprosy,  consumption  (which  is  very  common),  plague  (which 
is  often  fatal),  and  enteric  diseases,  the  latter  being  almost 
constant.  So  general  are  these  conditions,  that,  as  stated  in 
connection  with  the  foods,  it  is  unsafe  to  drink  even  the  pure 
water — pure  from  the  hydrants,  and  this  is  pure  until  it  comes 
out  of  the  hydrants  into  the  vessel  in  which  it  is  brought  to 
the  house  or  boat,  but  that  vessel  is  so  contaminated  that 
the  water  is  made  unsafe  and  it  is  necessary  to  boil  all  that 
one  drinks.  This  is  also  true  of  the  milk.  Nothing  could  be 
more  dangerous  than  unboiled  milk.  So,  too,  of  all  uncooked 
fruits  and  vegetables — they  should  be  most  carefully  washed, 
not  with  river  water  or  hydrant  water,  but  with  boiled  water, 
in  order  in  some  measure  to  rid  them  from  the  danger  of 
infection  due  to  these  filthy  habits  and  conditions. 

[  222  ] 


SPINNING  OUT  THE  THREAD 

The  women  of  Kashmir  are  famed  for  their  beauty,  but  your  first  impression  is  that 
they  have  been  overrated.  However,  after  you  have  seen  them  at  their  various  tasks 
and  recreations,  noted  their  erect  carriage,  the  undulating  grace  of  their  movements, 
and  their  flashing  eyes,  you  realize  that  they  have  a  charm  distinctively  their  own. 


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THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

The  children  are  often  astonishingly  beautiful,  the  little 
girls  being  perfect  pictures  in  their  picturesque  little  clothes, 
although  this  beauty  has  very  little  staying  quality  and  they 
become  old  at  an  early  age. 

Their  voices  are  not  one  of  their  agreeable  features,  and  it 
is  exceedingly  irritating  to  hear  these  sharp,  shrill,  penetrating 
tones  that  rasp  and  tear  the  nerves  of  one's  ear,  especially 
when  they  are  engaged  in  violent  disputes  or  a  general  row- 
is  going  on. 

Over  against  these  somewhat  unattractive  characteristics 
it  is  only  fair  to  put  a  few  statements  as  to  what  is  being  done 
in  the  way  of  character  building  by  Mr.  Tyndale-Biscoe,  the 
Neve  brothers  and  others.  In  view  of  what  has  been  said, 
the  conditions  would  seem  to  be  almost  hopeless,  and  yet  the 
amount  of  good  that  in  a  comparatively  few  years  has  been 
done  in  the  way  of  laying  the  foundations  of  character  is 
simply  incalculable,  and  many  of  these  pupils  of  Mr.  Tyndale- 
Biscoe's  school  present  a  striking  contrast  to  what  they  them- 
selves had  been  before  being  subject  to  this  developing  influ- 
ence, and  an  even  more  striking  contrast  to  the  members  of 
their  families  and  their  associates  who  have  not  had  these 
advantages. 

Here,  for  instance,  the  boys  are  not  only  .taught  to  be 
men,  but  made  to  be  men,  with  the  result  that  they  are  strong 
and  vigorous,  with  an  exceptional  measure  of  endurance,  and 
better  yet  are  courageous  and  brave,  even  noble,  whereas  the 
majority  are  cowards  of  the  most  pitiable  kind  and  show  their 
strength,  if  they  have  any,  in  maltreating  their  women  and 
the  weaker  members  of  the  community,  as  well  as  their  beasts 
of  burden.  This  tone  of  vital  manliness  that  has  been  imparted 
to  the  workers  under  Mr.  Tyndale-Biscoe  has  become  a  sort 
of  standard,  and  if  you  were  to  lose  or  have  stolen  a  purse 
or  any  article  of  value  and  were  to  go  to  the  police  authorities 
and  state  the  case,  you  might  be  assured  that  everything  would 
be  done  to  regain  these,  with  expressions  of  sympathy  and 
apologies  that  such  things  had  taken  place,  but  never  receive 

[227] 


THE    VALE     OF     KASHMIR 

the  articles  themselves.  Whereas  if  the  services  of  some  of 
the  members  of  Mr.  Tyndale-Biscoe's  teaching  force  could  be 
engaged,  the  chances  are  that  they  would  very  soon  track  the 
rascal  and  regain  the  booty.  This  also  applies  to  their  mental 
development,  which  while  comparatively  flabby  as  a  rule,  is 
among  these  teachers  of  a  remarkably  high  order.  There  is  a 
clearness  of  perception  and  a  strength  of  mental  grasp  and 
readiness  of  appreciation  and  comprehension  that  is  very 
gratifying.  They  discuss  subjects  of  world-wide  interest  and 
view  things  from  a  large  standpoint.  They  are  also  of  not 
only  better  physical  and  mental  quality,  but  have  fine  spiritual 
ideals.  Those  that  happen  to  be  Hindus  are  most  consistent 
and  wholesome  followers  of  these  teachings,  or  if  they  are 
Mohammedans  they  are  truer  and  more  earnest  in  interpreting 
the  teachings  of  that  cult,  and  their  minds  are  more  open  to 
the  essential  principles  of  Christianity  in  so  far  as  they  apply  to 
daily  life.  This  is  sometimes  very  touchingly  revealed  by  un- 
fortunates that  have  been  cared  for  in  the  hospitals,  or  boys 
who  have  been  taught  in  the  schools.  They  have  gone  else- 
where and  passed  on  this  gift  of  rendering  service  to  others, 
in  short  the  leaven  of  going  about  doing  good  has  been  im- 
parted to  them  and  they  in  turn  are  imparting  it  to  others. 
It  is  entirely  fair,  therefore,  in  thinking  of  the  general 
conditions  that  seem  to  prevail,  to  realize  the  splendid  possi- 
bilities that  lie  before  these  people  in  the  future. 


[228] 


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XXVII 
AN  ARTIST  PARADISE 

"And,  oh!  if  there  be  an  Elysium  on  earth, 
It  is  this,  it  is  this" 

— Lalla  Rookk. 

THAT  this  title  is  fully  warranted  one  can  see  by  simply 
glancing  at  the  color  pictures,  some  of  which  are  repro- 
ductions from  beautiful  water-colors  done  by  Colonel 
Hart.  From  these,  too,  it  will  be  seen  what  a  wide  variety 
of  landscape  features,  shrubs  and  trees  and  flowers  and  color 
is  to  be  found  in  the  Valley.  These,  however,  are  but  distinct 
expressions  of  very  remarkable  natural  effects. 

The  first  large  body  of  water  seen  on  entering  the  Valley — 
Wular  Lake — is  also  one  of  its  most  interesting  features,  not 
only  because  of  the  striking  mountain  setting  and  luxuriant 
verdure,  but  more  especially  perhaps  because  of  the  wonderful 
light,  atmospheric  and  color  effects.  It  is  said  of  Venice  that 
it  is  almost  impossible  to  paint  any  color  or  atmospheric  effects 
that  are  not  to  be  found  at  some  time  or  under  some  circum- 
stances in  Venice.  This  is  equally  true  of  the  Wular  Lake, 
where  the  striking  natural  features  are  sometimes  black  and 
grim,  weird  and  sombre,  and  at  other  times  fairly  glowing 
with  the  golden  radiance  and  sheen  that  so  bathes  all  things 
that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  realize  that  this  is  the  same  spot 
you  have  seen  under  such  strikingly  contrasting  conditions. 

Then,  too,  one  who  is  sensitive  to  such  beauty  is  fully 
conscious  that  even  the  most  gifted  artist  is  unable  to  catch 
the  subtlest  and  most  evanescent  effects.  These  are  seen  and 
felt,  but  cannot  be  either  described  or  reproduced.  A  sail, 
therefore,  on  this  lake  just  after  the  hour  of  sunset,  when  all 
the  landscape  is  glowing  with  the  various  shades  of  golden 
light,  streaked  and  blended  and  mottled  with  every  degree  of 
rosy  tinge,  and  barred  and  intensified  by  the  deeper  shadows 
of  the  mountains  and  islands  that  are  cast  athwart  the  water, 

[231  ] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

is  a  rare  feast,  and  one  perforce  sits  enraptured,  filled  with 
the  vain  regret  that  it  is  impossible  to  reproduce  these  remark- 
able effects  so  that  others  who  cannot  come  may  be  able  to 
see  and  appreciate.  Something  of  this  is  perhaps  conveyed  by 
the  pictures,  but  it  must  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  these 
at  best  are  very  feeble  suggestions  of  the  indescribable  reality. 
Naturally  this  lake  is  a  very  favorite  spot  for  artists,  and  many 
are  the  efforts  that  have  been  made  to  catch  its  moods  and 
express  them  in  form  and  color. 

Then  as  one  advances  into  the  Valley  after  the  fields  and 
trees  and  mountain  sides  are  clad  in  ever-changing  color,  one 
begins  to  realize  how  diverse  and  how  continuous  is  this  feast 
of  beauty.  The  view  of  vast  stretches  of  poppies  under  the 
noble  chenar  trees,  with  vistas  of  the  hills  and  mountains, 
between  which  a  soft  pearly  mist  rises  to  refine  the  somber 
gloom  of  the  higher  mountain  wall  with  its  crest  of  eternal 
snow,  is  an  experience  never  to  be  forgotten,  and  yet  it  is  one 
that  the  lover  of  the  beautiful  has  day  after  day. 

Another  very  striking  effect  is  had  from  Pampur,  where, 
standing  some  distance  back  from  the  river's  bank,  one  looks 
over  a  variegated  mass  of  blood-red  flowers  tinged  with  golden 
yellow  and  deep  rich  purples  peeping  from  the  green  of  the 
trees  and  shrubs,  across  the  blue  opalescent  water  of  the  river 
to  the  maroon-tinted  opposite  bank,  above  which  in  the  dis- 
tance rise  the  huge  trees  that  are  varying  masses  of  yellow  or 
gorgeous  revelations  of  deep  red,  while  still  farther  in  the 
distance  the  horizon  is  bound  by  the  dull  violet  wall  that 
rises  to  its  snowy  crest  which  extends  for  nearly  eighty  miles, 
with  an  infinite  variety  of  indentations  and  configurations. 

In  still  another  of  the  pictures  one  realizes  the  fascinating 
color  effects  in  the  mingling  of  the  various  shades  of  yellow 
and  red  and  green  across  the  purple,  or  brown  tree  trunks. 

But  of  all  the  remarkable  effects  probably  none  is  more 
delightful  or  astonishing  than  that  of  the  Dhal  Lake  when 
the  lotus  flowers  are  in  bloom.  This  is  so  wonderful  that  nearly 
everyone  in  the  Valley,  no  matter  how  remote  he  may  be 

[232] 


THE    VALE    OF     KASHMIR 

from  the  Lake  at  the  time,  tries  to  visit  it  and  that,  too,  year 
after  year.  Of  course  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  convey  any 
idea  of  how  potent  is  this  charm,  and  yet  it  not  infrequently 
happens  that  people  who  go  in  boats  through  the  lake  at  this 
time  are  almost  intoxicated  and  overcome  by  the  spell  that 
is  cast  upon  the  senses. 

This  great  variety  of  natural  compositions  admits  of  subtle 
selection,  and  the  artist  is  able  to  choose  almost  anything  he 
wishes  from  this  manifold  expression.  There  are  not  only  the 
lakes  and  the  canals  and  the  roads  and  the  mountains  and  the 
temples,  snow  and  ice,  gardens  and  flowers  and  the  blooms  of 
the  trees,  and  the  light  effects,  but  the  glorious  and  refined 
coloring.  The  only  difficulty  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  artist 
becomes  so  lost  in  admiration  and  in  reveling  in  this  feast, 
and  so  conscious  of  his  incapacity  to  reproduce  it,  that  he 
gives  himself  up  almost  exclusively  to  its  enjoyment  and 
makes  little,  if  any,  effort  to  catch  and  hold  it  on  paper  or 
canvas.  It  is  esteemed,  very  properly,  by  many  artists  to  be 
a  sort  of  Mecca  to  which  one  goes  to  worship  the  beautiful 
in  nature.  The  great  difficulty  is  its  inaccessibility,  not  only 
being  so  far  from  Europe,  but  also  from  India  itself.  The  time 
and  expense  required  to  make  the  journey  are  so  great  that 
few  are  able  to  undertake  it,  and  yet  none  have  ever  been  there, 
at  whatever  cost,  without  a  feeling  of  complete  satisfaction 
and  more  than  adequate  compensation. 


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